


Forgotten Souls

by dacb972



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Also I don’t know how long this is going to be but it seems to be on the longer side of stories, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Catra (She-Ra)-centric, F/F, It is a slow build be patient, Slow Burn, Sorry I’m not great with tags, catra leaves the horde, making their own destinies or trying to, they defect from the horde, you’ve been warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 48,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25026202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dacb972/pseuds/dacb972
Summary: While Adora plays princess with her new friends Catra is left to deal with both Hordak and Shadow Weaver, until she doesn’t. Tired of being second to everyone and not being enough for them to stay she decides to leave. The fact that some cadets from the Horde follow her isn’t her problem.or Catra leaves everyone just like they left her but people decide they want to tag along.I’ll rate the story at the end but if it turns Mature in any sense, most likely in terms of possible violence, I’ll rate it right away if not then it will have one once the story is over.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 208
Kudos: 754





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Where the Lonely Ones Roam](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355854) by [glimmerglanger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/glimmerglanger/pseuds/glimmerglanger). 



> I really enjoyed the concept of Catra leaving everything behind not choosing the Horde or the Rebellion, it makes so much sense for her to just give up on the conflict that isn’t hers. Well except for Adora.
> 
> Anyway, here Catra leaves after Adora tells her to come with her to the others side of the war and she refused so we basically only had the first episode. I’m making Scorpia a friend of Catra from the start because I can. 
> 
> This means the story is basically a complete AU. Enjoy.
> 
> I’ll leave the link to the Podfic of Where The Lonely Ones Roam with the added sound effects for you to check out, highly recommend it. So far it isn’t completed but hopefully it will be soon.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRbI74wG1o0VfquJxtVqEH8y3ARRCw4RJ
> 
> Here is the link of the Podfic without the sound effects here in AO3:
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/19085224

Catra was tired, there wasn’t much else to say. She had had enough of being everyone’s punching bag, especially Shadow Weaver’s. It had been bad enough that Adora had left her behind to deal with the mess that were their superiors, but dealing with abuse not only from their “teacher” but Hordak had been enough.

There wasn’t anything for her in the Fright Zone, most of the soldiers disliked each other and were acquaintances at best. That left few options, as far as she was concern the Crimson Waste wasn’t in the cards nor Beast Island; she wasn’t going back to Adora with her tail between her legs either. Which left the obvious vast Whispering Woods, she packed everything she owned which wasn’t much. A couple of “uniforms” if you could called them that and some sentimental shit.

“You’re leaving?” Kyle asked a little too loud for Catra’s liking.

“Yeah, what about it?” She answered without turning to him, it was bad enough to defect but being caught defecting could mean serious consequences for her wellbeing.

“Are you following Adora?” His mouth was definitely going to be his demise, too many questions to everyone and in the Fright Zone that was a recipe for disaster.

“No way I’m going to join her and the stupid princesses, I’m leaving the war. I’m tired of fighting and getting punished for shit I haven’t done. If you want to rat me out be my guest I’m still leaving.” She said with a shrug. If he wanted he could alert someone and she’d be damned to Beast Island at worst, this point it didn’t sound that bad.

“Can you do that? Aren’t you afraid of what they would do to you if someone finds out?” Catra turned to see him and didn’t see someone waiting to gain out of snitching but someone lost and just confused, still Kyle was always confused.

“Not really, they have enough problems with the princesses to start worrying about a lonely good for nothing defector, besides it isn’t like anyone wants me here.” She was talking to much but then again she had nothing left to lose.

“Wouldn’t it be difficult to survive? I mean it isn’t like people outside of the Fright Zone like Horde soldiers.” He was right. Most Etherians were terrified of them or hated them with passion, there wasn’t really an in between.

“I’m not going to go parading the fact that I was part of the Horde dumbass, people are afraid of the soldiers but I wouldn’t be one. At best I would be a fucking reject, and surviving is what we do daily here. Don’t tell me you eat enough or sleep enough or live at all beyond being a pawn in this conflict which isn’t even ours.” Catra took a deep breath, they weren’t alone anymore. Lonnie and Rogelio had showed up, well more like come back to the barracks.

“You’re leaving?” Lonnie asked with a surprised face. Catra rolled her eyes, was it really that hard to imagine her ditching this dump?

“Yes, I finished packing already and now I’m leaving. Have fun playing war with the assholes that are Hordak and Shadow Weaver, and having your asses handed to you by the princesses.”

Her three squad mates looked at her without uttering another word. Catra turned around and walked to the door, not really wanting to wait for them to make a decision on the fact that she was leaving. She wasn’t looking for more trouble than the situation needed.

“Can we come with you?” Lonnie said as she reached the door.

Catra looked back and shrugged not really caring. “I don’t know can you? If you are asking me if I’d care if you come it’s your choice. I’m leaving in an hour, if you want to come Scorpia is helping me so you’ll find me in her room.”

They were the unwanted the group of nobodies, the ones that fought for others and died in vain. Catra understood that, if they wanted to leave then they were free to do so. She wasn’t their leader, Adora had taken that roll before and even when it had been handed to her it wasn’t something she wanted. Being responsible for others was exhausting, but leaving with more people made their survival chances better. That was good enough for her.

* * *


	2. The Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra and the rejects start their journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I’m calling them the rejects. I’m all about Scorpia getting a good friend out of Catra so here we will have it because I want to and I’m writing it.

Catra hadn’t lied, half an hour of waiting inside Scorpia’s room proved a good idea when the rest of her former (current?) squad made an appearance. Even if she didn’t want to feel pity or sympathy she did, they were just as screwed as her.

“Wasn’t sure you’d come.” She said putting on her backpack and turning to look at Scorpia.

“We want out, it isn’t like we are any better here. It’s probably worst.” Lonnie said, her tone lacked the bite it usually had when talking to Catra. Which made her wonder if the other girl was just as tired as she was of losing. “What is the plan?”

“Scorpia here is getting a truck with supplies and we’ll help her with her ‘mission’, it is important to get some weapons and food up to the front. That’s the official story, we’ll just take the truck and settle somewhere in the Whispering Woods.” Catra said waiting for them to nod. It was crucial for all of them to be on the same page.

“Aren’t the Whispering Woods supposed to be dangerous?” Kyle was making some good points but this wasn’t the time to doubt the plan.

“Maybe, but we don’t have any other options. I’m not running to Adora and the princesses, and the other options are the Crimson Waste and Beast Island. I’d say the Whispering Woods are our best option.”

“Catra is right. Besides if you guys want you can always leave after we manage to get out of the Fright Zone, nobody is going to make you stay so if you want you can go to the princesses or anywhere else. You’d be free to do as you please, but I would be very happy if you stayed it would get a little lonely with time.” Scorpia wasn’t one to see gloom in things and she was always nice to everyone, which was surprising since she was a superior officer and had always been in the Fright Zone.

“We’ll get out and decide from there.” Lonnie answered for them. “Could we leave something to others? Like telling them they have a place to go if they wanted to leave.”

“Perhaps when we are settle Lonnie, it isn’t a great idea to go and start trying to make everyone leave. We don’t know who would come and who’d be a snitch and turn us over.” Catra had thought things through, she had considered the options. They weren’t the best but they were safe enough.

The rejects nodded and they all got out of the room hoping for the best. Well everyone but Catra, if life had taught her anything it was that the best usually wasn’t what happened; quite the opposite.

* * *

Catra was surprised, so far things had gone perfect. A little too perfect. They had gotten the truck without questions and were barely ten minutes away from making it out of the Fright Zone. She wasn’t about to jinx it thinking about everything that could still go wrong.

“What have you guys decided?” Catra broke the silence, they were tense she could see it. Talking was supposed to make people feel better, right?

“I think the best bet is staying together for now. It might change in the future but we don’t really know a lot about how the hell we’ll survive.” Catra nodded, Lonnie was usually the most grounded of them. A good person at heart, caring about her friends; a little like Scorpia without the overly affectionate side.

“Very well, I manage to get a relatively remote location with a water source nearby. It isn’t part of the Kingdoms or the Horde territory as far as I’m aware and we wouldn’t be near the war front.” Catra said as she took out a map, making this plan on a Horde tablet would’ve been too reckless and she wasn’t.

She pointed the place as Scorpia drove listening to them. Catra had come with a thought out plan and then asked Scorpia if she was up for it, the girl was ecstatic to leave the Horde. It wasn’t like they would missed them and Catra had been kind enough to tell her to leave with her, not just drive her for Scorpia to then return.

“How long did you think about this?” Kyle asked, it was way more than he’d been expecting. By the way Catra had talked before he’d assume that she was winging it.

“A couple of days, it isn’t much but it is a plan. We would have water which is a necessity and where there is water there are animals, so we could hunt a little while we figure out what to do next.” She wanted to have something more solid but time was of the essence.

“We are nearly half way through Wildcat.” Catra rolled her eyes at the nickname, not a big fan but Scorpia seemed to like it so she let it slide. “Let me know when I need to take out the tracker.”

Lonnie and Rogelio looked a little impressed, Kyle just seemed surprised. “We’re keeping the truck?”

“Yeah, it could be useful and somewhere to sleep for the first nights. We would have to make our own shelter, however, I’m not about to get caught because I was stupid enough to let the tracker stay.” It was good he wouldn’t be back in the Fright Zone, it was a wonder how he hadn’t manage to piss off someone enough getting thrown to the Beast Island transport by asking the wrong thing.

The rest of the travel was passed in relative silence it wasn’t like they had a lot to talk about. The Horde discouraged individuality and hobbies, those weren’t qualities you needed as a soldier. Taking out the tracker was easy enough, back in the Fright Zone they would assume princesses had ambushed them and took them out; it was close enough to the front.

Catra passed out some of the rations, she made a mental list of what they had making sure she added making an actual list when she was better rested tomorrow. They reached the place when the moons started to appear.

“We are here.” Catra thanked Scorpia, she didn’t need to be an ass anymore; it wasn’t like in the Fright Zone. Attaching before getting out to walk the perimeter, as much as she wanted to rest it was important to make sure there weren’t dangerous creatures or simply bad people roaming around.

When she finished she walked back taking a look at the lake near the truck. It was there because of an irregularity on the ground seeing that if you moved farther up or down you could see the stream that kept the water coming and going. It was a good place, a look into the crystal water and she could see fish. That was great, fishing was less work than hunting; more patience.

As she walked back to the truck she saw Lonnie leaning back on its side. “Thanks for letting us come.”

“You don’t have to thank me. You also don’t have to be nice to me.” They didn’t owed her anything, it wasn’t like she had asked them to come in the first place.

“You gave us an out.” Catra shrugged as Lonnie looked at the ground a little defeated as if the idea of leaving would have never crossed their minds if it wasn’t for her.

“You would’ve ran away eventually. You are too smart for them to keep you much longer. Unlike me you would’ve taken Kyle and Rogelio with you from the start.” Lonnie was surprised, Catra was actually being decent even kind to her. That wasn’t how things used to be in the Horde. Her expression made Catra roll her eyes.

“I’m not as bad as you assume I am Lonnie, but if I was nice to anyone it came and bit me in the ass. Even you or the rest of the squad... Even to Adora. People aren’t supposed to be nice in the Horde they are expected to be ruthless and mean and demanding, which I can be to some extent but not to their standard. Right now I’m just tired of everything.” Loonie nodded and looked at the lake. “Just like you.”

Without another word Catra left her to think, they were all tired. The had been beaten and dismissed and abused to different extents. But no more, they were free and she was going to do her best to make sure that they never went through something like that ever again. Sticking to Catra, as much as it pained her to think so, was by far the best thing they could’ve ever done.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always thought the Horde squad had potential, can you tell I really like Lonnie?
> 
> As a side note, would you like small updates or long ones. I’m not talking 10000 words but at least 2000 as opposed to 800-1000 words per chapter. 
> 
> I know it would be great to proof read this and I did for the first half of the chapter but I’m a little bit tired and want to upload so bare with me. Let me know what you think and what you’d like to see in this little adventure of the rejects.
> 
> Finally I’m not a native English speaker so if there is something wrong with grammar or spelling or anything else feel free to let me know, politely thank you.


	3. Settling Down and Running Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rejects start building shelter and try to make the best of their situation. We get to see new faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like before I’m not proof reading this so beware.

They woke up early the next morning, not really knowing what to do without direct orders they looked at Catra who rolled her eyes. She grumbled for a second as she gave everyone rations for breakfast, they weren’t sticking to one bar like on the Horde but they couldn’t indulge or they would ran out of food too quickly.

After breakfast Catra asked Rogelio and Scorpia to gather wood, an amount big enough for making fire more than a couple of times as the rest of them looked around for food sources.

The easiest thing to do was fishing as it required basically sitting around and waiting which meant it was Kyle’s job. It wasn’t like they didn’t trust him but the guy was a bit of a klutz and he would be near the truck so he had to keep it safe too.

Lonnie and Catra walked around looking for fruits and plants they could use. For everything bad in the Horde survival skills was something useful they had reached them and while Catra could be more perceptive Lonnie was more knowledgeable.

“So what are we going to do with the fruit?”

“Eat it eventually, we can store some and eat the rest. Is this the plant that makes the anesthetic?” Catra asked as she pointed.

“Yeah, it might come in handy later on.” Lonnie was a little surprised, Catra had always been dismissive when it came to classes of any sort but she knew more than most of the cadets. “Why did you play dumb back in the Horde?”

“It was safer than risking outshining Adora or anyone else for that matter. You know our superiors weren’t the biggest fans of me.” Catra said with a shrug as she picked some mushrooms.

“Was it? You always got the worst of all of us...” It made her feel a bit guilty, it wasn’t like they had it much better but in terms of being a target of people’s rage Catra was on top of most lists.

“Well I was a bit of an ass, so to some extent I believe I deserved it. Not everything though, but there is nothing you could’ve done. Even Adora couldn’t get me out of being punished and she was the gold standard.” She shook her head not wanting to dwell on their time at the Horde, it wasn’t productive.

Lonnie got the memo and they continued their walk in silence, that was until they saw an old woman picking some berries.

“What is an old lady doing this far on the woods?” Loonie asked out loud, Catra shrugged.

“Catra dreary you came!” What the fuck the was happening, how did this woman knew her name. Where they in trouble?

“How do you know my name?” She didn’t want to bother an old lady but if their safety was compromised, why couldn’t things go right for once? Catra thought exasperated.

“Oh is this the first time? It must be...” The woman pondered and the teens looked at her lost. “Well now you know Madam Razz and you friend knows her too and you should come and help me with the pie.”

“Okay this lady is crazy, come on Catra let’s head back and see how the rest are doing.” Lonnie said as she turned back wanting nothing to do with the woman, she could tell someone she had seen them and if the Horde caught them they would be punished severely.

“Wait!” Lonnie looked at her as if she had grown a second tail. “We'll help if you make one we can take back to our friends.”

“Of course deary!” The woman answered with a big smile. “It wouldn’t be polite if you ate and they didn’t. Now come along we shouldn’t make them wait too long.” With that Madam Razz, who used Madam these days? Took off almost running. For an old lady she sure knew how to leave people behind.

* * *

“Should we trust her?” Lonnie asked when they were in what appeared to be Razz’s house, it was nice but everything was out of place.

“I don’t know but this is our chance to get something good and I don’t think she would do something bad to us. I mean she did instantly agree to make a pie for the rest of the group.” She wasn’t expecting a yes that quickly or at all, she wasn’t even expecting the woman to make and actual pie but here they were.

“Catra deary how’s that girl of yours? Or is it wife now? Time can get really mixed up.” Razz asked as if it was something she’d do normally as if she knew her. Catra hoped she wasn’t blushing but by the cackles coming out of Lonnie she hadn’t been successful.

“What are you talking about Madam Razz?” The girl managed to ask without stuttering... much.

“You call me Razz deary! Don’t be silly, the pies are almost ready.” She said as she walked to the oven. “Bring her next time it’s been a long time since she came and say hi to your red friend for me, I always forget her name. She is really nice.”

“I told you she wasn’t right in the head.” Lonnie said still laughing, Catra rolled her eyes but smiled at the woman.

“Sure I’ll tell Scorpia...” It had to be her, Catra didn’t have anyone else that she could call a friend that was red. “You say hi.”

The timer ringed and they where rushed out of the house with two pies in hand. “Thanks Razz.”

“You are welcome Catra deary, you can always come around don’t forget it. You too Lon.” Razz turned around to sweep the floors.

It had been the first time Razz acknowledged Lonnie, she nodded as her own goodbye. Catra and her walked back to their camp asking what the heck had just happened.

* * *

“Where did you get pies? Is there a village near by? Should we be worried!?” Kyle asked when they returned.

“An old lady, not that we are aware of, so far no.” Catra answered his questions. “Did you manage to catch something? Have Scorpia and Rogelio made it back?”

“Yes! I have a couple of fishes, actually more than a couple they seem to like the grey bar rations more us.” He said wondering why the fishes subjected themselves to that. “And Scorpia and Roge came here with a lot of wood for fire and then went back with a couple of axes saying they could chop some trees for the shelter.”

Catra nodded it was smart. “Lonnie you are better at organizing could you try to store the fruit and count the rations on the truck? See if we could all work on the housing issue for a couple of days without worrying about starving. Kyle come with me and let’s cook some of the fish, I know Scorpia took a truck with some pots and pans.”

“Sure, should we store the pies?”

“For now, we can wait until Scorpia and Rogelio are back so that we can eat lunch and then have dessert.” They weren’t stupid as most people believed, they knew what most things were. The big difference was that they could never really indulge in any kind of mundane pleasures.

* * *

Scorpia and Rogelio made it back safely and told them that they had manage to get more than a few trees chopped down, but they were a little to heavy to bring all back at once. They ate the fish with some water finishing with the pies, it had been the best meal they had have in a while.

“We could use the truck to get the trunks back, it would be better if we start with the houses early and avoid depending on it too much.” Catra said when she finished her slice.

“I saw some rope back there so we wouldn’t have to take everything out, we could drag them.”

“We should do it tomorrow though, last thing we need is for the night to come without us here. I’m going to explore a bit more.” Catra stood up and walked away from the group, she wasn’t naive and wanted to make sure the perimeter was safe. Perhaps she was a little paranoid but they had been raised as soldiers, the had already lost enough.

Lonnie would make a great leader, she was talented when it came to dealing with people and liked clear plans. It’s not like they needed one but if others decided to come to them it would probably be wise to keep someone in charge. Rogelio and Scorpia both were muscle, smart sure but leaders not really. Kyle... he was good at fishing and cooking so there was that.

She had walked farther than she had intended. What was Adora doing now? What was happening with the Horde? Did Shadow Weaver replace her? Did she manage to get Adora back? Catra shivered at the thought, she hoped that Adora was smart enough to never go back.

She huffed as she walked back to the camp, it wasn’t time to think about her ex-best friend? What were they? Something touched her on the side and instinctively she went into fight mode, locking the arm of her attacker behind their back as she pinned them, they appeared to be male, to the ground.

“What do you want?” She hissed, they had attacked her. She wasn’t about to be gentle.

“Sorry! You were deep in thought and I didn’t know how to get your attention.” They said. “My name is Aidan, I was hoping you could help me. I got lost and don’t know how to go back to my village.”

She let them go. “You’re a guy?” He nodded, “I don’t know where your village is. What I know is you are pretty far from the general population, I’m going back to my camp if you want you can come if not I don’t really care much.”

“Thanks!” He said happily, for what Catra could see the guy had been walking for some time. His clothes were dirty and he seemed like he could use a meal, there was a good chance he was lying. There was a group of ex-soldiers waiting for them so she wasn’t too worried.

They reached the camp and his faced paled as he looked at the group. They had their Horde clothing it wasn’t like they could get something different.

“You’re the Horde...” He said softly as if realizing he had made a huge mistake.

“No we aren’t, we are the rejects. You can stay if you want, if you where going to try something I’ll let you know we were trained soldiers so you might as well not do shit.” Catra said nonchalantly, he looked terrified still.

“You can have a meal and somewhere to sleep until you can get back to your village, if that is even true.” She mumbled the last part, “if you want you can always stay and help out with something...”

She turned to the others and went to Kyle who was cooking their dinner, telling him to make one more plate. He nodded without asking questions, they all knew what it was like to be hungry and trying to steal to placate it wasn’t that rare back at the Horde.

“Hey! My name’s Scorpia, I didn’t know there were villages nearby.” She smiled at him warmly as if there wasn’t anything sketchy about him.

“There aren’t...” He said with his head down as Scorpia guided him to the group where Kyle was already passing out meals.

“How did you end up here? Lonnie by the way, your chef here is Kyle, he’s Rogelio and I assume you already know Catra.”

“I...” Did he really wanted to tell them? For all he knew they were still with the Horde.

“Look kid, we ain’t going to drag you to the Horde or anywhere near the war. As you can see we are pretty damn far from there, we wanted out so we escaped. You can tell us or don’t I don’t care but say it upfront if you don’t want to.” Catra said without looking up from her plate.

“I’m with a group of refugees... I’m in charge of the scouting, we aren’t enough to settle a village of our own but we are too many to be accepted with open arms by any other village.” He said defeated, the war left many behind and despite promises made by the royals not everyone was helped especially since they were still fighting.

Lonnie nudge Catra as if asking for her permission, she shrugged and when Lonnie looked down at her plate and kept eating she sighed. Nobody wants to be the one to say the anything, not here, not back in the Horde, but Catra wasn’t one to back down.

“You could stay here with us.”

“But you don’t have anything here...” He said unsure, it wasn’t like he was ungrateful for the proposition but there wasn’t anything beyond a truck and a fire place.

“We got here like two days ago so don’t expect much, look I’m giving you an out take it or leave it I don’t care. We have already started making plans for housing and more hands would be welcome, I’m sure we can help with food and if there is too many of you we can always get more.” Catra looked at him seriously before getting up to get them pie, he could think about it and Lonnie would be happy for her giving him the option to bring his people.

“Is she your leader?” They looked at him and then between themselves faintly nodding, so far Catra has proved reliable as a leader even if she wasn’t officially.

“How many of you are?” Scorpia asked curiously.

“We are ten in total, all teens.” He said sadly, “our village was attacked but we were exploring a stream. We came back to see everything destroyed, there weren’t sings of people. I told everyone to stay for a couple of days and see if someone came back, nobody did.”

“That sucks man.” Kyle said with a sympathetic smile, “we’ve never really had a home to lose.”

“Is Catra really okay with the possibility of us staying?” He asked them, while she had told him that it didn’t matter there was still doubt in him.

“Catra isn’t as bad as she seems... a little ruff around the edges but a good girl, she was the one that asked me to ran away.” Scorpia smiled at him, she seemed too nice for someone that was previously connected with the Horde.

“I saw her leaving, Lonnie asked if we could come with them and she said something along the lines of her proposition to you. She asked later on if we would stay because we had only agreed to get out of the Fright Zone and then look what to do next.” Kyle told him as he offered a some more fish, Aidan took it grateful.

“Before we left I asked her if we could leave something behind to let other soldiers who wanted out know that there was a place for them if they looked for it. She could’ve said outright no, instead she told me that when we were more settled and it was safer. We couldn’t risk being caught leaving.” Lonnie added.

“Why is she rude? Mean?” It seemed like the girl was genuinely nice, well at heart that is.

“Catra’s been through a lot.” Rogelio who hadn’t talked said, he looked up and walked to the truck to help Catra with the desert. They returned with a slice of pie for everyone.

“My point still stands kid, if you want you can stay if not then you can leave at any point in time. If you have to get your people feel free to do so but tell us before or you’ll all be receiving the same treatment you got for startling back in the woods.”

“They are expecting me tomorrow, I’ll take you offer and sleep here and ask them if they want to stay.” He said, Catra nodded satisfied with his answer.

“We are moving some trunks tomorrow so there is a chance you’ll only find two of us here if you come back.” She said, adding as she looked at Kyle. “Could you fish some more? I know it is enough for us but maybe not if he brings more people, we can always store it.”

Kyle nodded. “I can stay with him, make sure everything is accounted for and we have a clear idea of how to distribute things.”

“Okay, then I’ll help Rogelio and Scorpia with the trunks.” When they were done and the plates had been collected Aidan watched as Catra went out.

“Where is she going?” He asked Lonnie, “checking the perimeter. She did it the first time too, let’s hope your friends aren’t too close.”

“Do you take shifts?”

“We are far enough to be safe from the war... That was the point of coming all the way here, that’s what Catra said. So no, she hasn’t ask anyone to do it or help, it isn’t like we sleep much. Catra has always been the one that sleeps less.” With that the conversation was over and they turned to sleep.

When they woke up Catra had already started a fire and was cooking near the lake as she watch a rod settled not too far away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I am aware Razz is much more chaotic, but I wanted her to be a little more coherent to help the rejects even a little bit. She is one of my favorite characters and I wanted her to help Catra, besides she is always funny. 
> 
> I need some help with names, so if you want you can give me a couple you’d like to add to the new rejects. If you do please pair it with pronouns thanks :)
> 
> Let me know what you think and if you have any ideas on to where you want the story to go.


	4. A Small Trial Should Be Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group grows without really meaning too. They manage to move past some of their own prejudices.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to update this today so it wasn’t really double checked in terms of grammar or spelling, you can tell me if there is something and I’ll do my best to revise it.

Just like it was said the night before the group divided. Lonnie and Kyle stayed back while Scorpia, Rogelio and Catra left with the truck. In the end they decided to take out most of the stuff for Lonnie to organize. Aidan was left on his own as Catra told him once more that he was free to do as he wished.

Their group was odd, it seemed to work fine with everyone helping with something they were good at. Aidan did noticed that it was like Catra was the unofficial leader, he wondered how that had come around. It didn’t seem like she wanted the title, only that it was bestowed upon her. Not that she seem to care.

“Hey Aidan!” Lonnie called him as he was walking away.

“Yes?” He asked unsure of what the girl could want from him, he still wasn’t too comfortable with the fact that they had been part of the Horde.

“If you come with more people, any amount can you try to let us know as soon as possible? It will help me with the division of food.” Aidan hadn’t expected that, he was expecting her to say something like go away. It made him feel guilty, so far they had been by far the people that had treated him the best. The only ones willing to give him and his friends a chance.

“Sure, I’ll make Rowan and Oakley come here and tell you if the group decides to settle here. They are twins a bit of a mess, Rowan is a bit taller than Oakley.” Lonnie nodded and seemed to make a mental note on who was who. “Oakley is a bit of a goof, they are funny but can be a bit much. Rowan makes sure that they make much of a mess.”

“I’ll keep them in mind, both they/them?” Oh fuck, now he felt even more guilty. Most people simply assumed that he was talking about both twins when he referred to one of them as they, usually the twins made sure to correct people afterwards.

“Yeah...” Aidan said with a smile. He would need to rethink whatever he believed about the people that were with the Horde. Perhaps they were simply trapped on an unfortunate situation.

“Okay, you said ten I’m assuming you included yourself there?” He nodded, “we’ll have enough food for your first night if you decide to stay and will collect more when you are here. I don’t want it to go to waste if you decide you don’t.”

Well now he was an asshole, for sure his face had to show how guilty he felt. If Lonnie saw it she didn’t react nor commented on it letting him go with a wave as she went back to counting their rations and guarding them.

* * *

“It will never fail to impress me how much raw strength you have Scorpia.” Catra said with a smirk as she watched both Scorpia and Rogelio move one of the trunks as she tied the ropes around other. She was agile and fast but never the muscle of their group.

“Thanks but Rogelio is pushing more than enough,” Scorpia chuckled. “Was there pie left for today? It was really good.”

“Yes.” Catra has made sure there was enough left fo them to enjoy it a couple of days. “However with the possibility of more people we might only get more tonight.”

“Its getting near lunch time, are we going back?” Rogelio asked, they hadn’t talked about eating arrangements.

“When we finish loading the truck so that we can bring as many trucks as possible. I think we can manage to get a couple more in the back, what do you think?” Catra answered as the other two nodded, they had made good progress but it was a slow process.

“If we get more people do you think there is a chance that the Horde or the Rebellion could find us?” Scorpia asked seriously, it was a possibility. A big one, they weren’t in a good position. Actually it was pretty bad, neither side of the conflict liked them.

Catra shook her head getting rid of the thought of getting caught again in between the stupid conflict. “If I’m honest there is a chance, but we would deal with it if it came to that. We’ve survived through worst. Besides what if they are useful and stay, we could get rid of the Horde uniforms and get some normal clothes.”

“Hmm, I guess you are right.” Scorpia said thoughtfully as Rogelio nodded in agreement, getting new clothes would definitely help them. They could even manage to trade with other villages. “We are done, are you driving back Catra?”

“I can if you want to, but I think Rogelio is a better driver. It is a heavy load.” He nodded and got on the driver sit as they drove back to their camp.

* * *

“Aidan! Finally, I thought we had lost you too.” Darvan said as he hugged him.

“I’m fine...” Aidan chuckled, he looked around at the group as they looked expectantly at him. “I have news.”

“Can you tell us today? You always take too long!” Sybell said as she first bumped Selena and Kynz.

“I found a group that is settling not far from here and they are willing to let us settle with them.” The group cheered, they had traveled already for months and had been rejected by over ten different villages. The excuses had varied from we don’t have space or food to it is too dangerous for you to stay.

“You don’t seemed to happy.” Alexander said as he approached Aidan, “what’s the catch?”

He sighed, of course Alexander could see through him. “They are five ex-horde soldiers.”

“We can’t have good things.”

“That’s just our luck...”

“We can keep looking, it isn’t like we haven’t travel a lot already.”

“Everyone shut up!” Lank said they were usually the one that kept peace within the group. A big individual but soft most of the time.

“We could vote on the idea.” Alexander pitched, he was tired of moving around and for once someone was willing to let them stay. Stability was something rare when it came to their lives.

“Sure let’s write it down.” Aidan said as he passed a piece of paper to everyone and they wrote an x or o. It was a way for them not to influence the others decisions. “Aren’t you voting Dedril?”

The girl was a little older than most which varied from 14 to 18, she was 18. Never one to let the emotions of the group dictate what she thought.

“I wrote my vote but I’ll read it when you finished counting.” Aidan sighed, it wasn’t something he wanted. But then again they didn’t have a real leader and she could do as she pleased.

“Fine.” Aidan said as he began to count showing the votes, five x and four o.

“It seems like no has won.” Selene said with a smug smirk, making obvious her vote.

“Not quite, I haven’t showed my vote.” Dedril said as she showed a circle making the group groan. “I have a proposition. Why don’t we go and spend the night with them? I assume Aidan did that, we can make another vote then.”

It was a sound idea and after a collective nod it was decided. “Rowan and Oakley can go there before hand, you are the fastest and I promised I would tell them before hand if we were going to show up since they would make adjustments in the amount of meals.”

That gather a couple of surprises faces, the twins nodded and followed the directions Aidan gave them as the group traveled behind them. Some were hopeful while others were doubtful. Maybe they had a chance to settle or maybe it was too good to be true.

One thing was for sure they were all tired.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ll be honest while I gave everyone a name I won’t be able to focus on each individual so we will have some that will come every now and then, hopefully I manage to keep more than a couple around for long but I want the original squad to be the center of the story. 
> 
> I have a question do you want to see how things are going in the war front or shall we wait until they are settle to update that?


	5. Stay and Help or Leave You’re Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group grows bigger and Catra makes an impression on the new arrivals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided upon reading a couple of comments and well starting to write this chapter that we will leave the Horde and the Rebellion aside for some time. 
> 
> As always no beta read, so pardon my mistakes you can point them out and I’ll do my best to change them. Enjoy.

The twins found the place Aidan had told them and manage to see a girl seemingly organizing some boxes.

“Hey!” Oakley shouted only to be pushed by their sibling, “don’t do that!”

“You must be Oakley and Rowan.” They nodded, Lonnie could see the height difference.

“Yes Aidan send us to tell you that we would be coming at least a day.”

A truck appeared from the woods. “It’s okay that is ours. My name is Lonnie and the guy fishing is Kyle.”

A girl approach them with an uninterested look. “Did you make any progress Lonnie?” She asked as if she hadn’t seen the new pair.

“Yeah, Catra this is Rowan they are taller and calmer than Oakley. They are supposed to be a troublemaker.” Loonie said pointing at each twin.

“Hey, are you staying?” Catra asked looking at Rowan.

“We we’re going to stay a night at least, get a feel. Not everyone was on board with settling here.” They said nervously, Catra wasn’t impressed.

“Say it as it is kid. You didn’t know if you wanted to stay with someone that was back with the Horde.” The twins pale, they would tell them to get lost. “I’m not going to do shit to any of you calm the fuck down. Now if you are staying even for a night come here and make yourselves useful.”

She pointed at Kyle and then at Scorpia and Rogelio, “choose cooking or building.”

“Rowan can cook but I can’t, I’ll help building or fishing I saw Kyle fishing.”

“Kyle!” She shouted.

“Yes Catra?”

“Do we need more fish? The kid’s group is coming to stay for a night and then they’ll see.”

“If they are making it to lunch it would be good to catch a couple more fishes to make sure we have enough for dinner, you said you’d go hunting so that could be another option.” He said as he went back to cooking, Rowan made their way to him.

“When are they getting here?”

“I would say in an hour or so...” Oakley said, their group moved slower than them but moving too slow tended to be dangerous.

“So they are coming for lunch or will they have eaten?” They looked down, it was likely they wouldn’t have enough to eat. “Your face is saying they’ll eat here, now you want to fish or hunt with me?”

“Would it be okay if I fish? I don’t want to get separated from Rowan...” Oakley said nervously.

“Kid I’ll say the same I told Aidan when he came, I don’t care if you stay or go or do whatever you want as long as there isn’t trouble and you are somewhat useful if you can.” She took them by the arm and sat them next to a road. “If you need anything ask Lonnie, both of you.”

They nodded and Catra walked away.

“She seems interesting...” Rowan let out.

“Catra is fine, it makes sense for you to help if you are staying and can do it. Besides our meals are nearly done but now we need more for your friends.” Kyle said as he continued cooking.

“I didn’t mean to offend her.” Lonnie chuckled.

“As if you could offend her. You’ll need something way harsher to get on her bad side,” she said with a smirk adding afterwards seriously, “however, I advise you not to look for it.” 

“Noted.” The twins said in unison.

* * *

When Catra returned they were already eating around a small fire. She had manage to get a couple of birds and some eggs from a nest, the last thing they needed was to continue eating Horde rations.

Leaving the birds and the eggs with the rest of the food she approach the group and it went quiet for a second as Kyle handed her a plate with some fish and greens. Loonie handed her a cup of water and she ate in silence for a second as the group watched. She rolled her eyes, were they expecting her to talk first?

“I got a couple of birds so that should diversify our food as well as some eggs. We can wait for them to hatch and start raising them or we can eat them.” Catra said as she looked at Kyle and Loonie, the former was their current cook and the latter was the one in charge of the resource handling.

“We can raise them, you are bound to get more eggs from around and in the long run it is the smartest move. We could wait some more for eggs, right guys?” Loonie said as she looked at everyone around. There were a couple of shrugs.

“Very well.” Catra looked for Aidan and when she found him asked directly. “I don’t know if you are in charge but you are the one that I know so I’m asking you but anyone can answer for all I care.” He nodded.

“Are you staying or not?” She wasn’t about to assume they had reached a decision but it was needed to move along with their camp.

“We haven’t voted, so far we agreed to stay the night.” He answer as confident as he could but Catra’s look frightened him a little.

“I’m assuming you’ll stay for the morning?” She looked around and there were a couple of nods. “Okay then, if you stay here you might as well help. We have cooking and building but if you have a particular set of abilities that could help in other ways then you can do that. I’m hunting tomorrow too so there is that as well as fishing, Oakley here helped with that before and Rowan cooked.”

The group didn’t look static about her words but she wasn’t about to care if they were staying and eating they could help. “Loonie here has been organizing our stuff, so there is that too. I’m training tomorrow in the afternoon, if you don’t mind me kicking you around or you want to learn something you can. I know you don’t know shit from the fact that I pinned Aidan in less than thirty seconds, that isn’t something good in this world.”

Catra stood up, she had finished eating as she talked. “I’m getting pie, if anyone wants some there is enough for you all to get a slice. You can sleep on the truck, there might not be enough space. I’ll stay outside, if you have tents or something it would be a good idea to use them.” They watched her walk away once more.

“She doesn’t fuck around...” Alexander said, he looked at Scorpia. She was the nicest of the bunch, then again, she was nicer than anyone they had encountered so far. “Is she the leader?”

“Kinda... We don’t have one but the plan was Catra’s and as you can see she has been the one with the best ideas. Also she was the one that told Aidan he could stay.”

That surprised the teens, if you had asked anyone of them they would have assumed that Catra was the last one to let them stay. They made soft conversation as the girl in question made a couple of travels bringing everyone pie, she didn’t eat in the end. Later they would find that there hadn’t been enough for everyone to eat.

Just like the nights before Catra made sure everyone was settle down and went out to patrol the area. She had grown to avoid sleeping too much, it was never a good idea back in the Horde; wether it was because of pranks, asshole superiors or simply nightmares.

“What do you think about them?” Alexander asked Aidan as they laid down on the tent with the rest of their group.

“They have been the best people I’ve encountered. If I’m honest I’ve felt like an idiot for judging them, they haven’t done anything but be nice. Even Catra with her harshness, it is truthful and doesn’t give into misunderstandings.”

“Should we vote now or tomorrow morning?” Dedril asked.

They voted that night and decided to give them a chance, they really had nothing left to lose. Perhaps they would be fine with this groups of reject, because they were reject too.

* * *

Catra walked back later to find Lonnie waiting for her outside the truck.

“You done?”

“I just wanted to make sure the perimeter was safe.” Catra said with a shrug, nobody seemed to care about checking their surroundings so she would do it.

“You know we could take shifts.”

“It’s not like you should do something you don’t want, besides it isn’t like I sleep that much.” While it seemed like she was lazy and used to sleep in back in the Horde they knew better. Not being aware of what was happening around you was dangerous.

“I’m sure the rest wouldn’t mind checking the perimeter, you know we are all trained soldiers.” Catra snorted as she thought about their new arrivals.

“What do you think about the new kids?” While Catra wasn’t the best judge of character Loonie was, better than her at least. She was better at socializing and had been the one that talked the most them.

“They are fine, good kids shitty situation. Not as bad as ours but they have lost their homes and families, the war doesn’t spare anyone.” The last part said as she watched the moons. Catra hummed.

“Anything useful besides cooking or building?”

“One of them knows the basics of healing so that is good but then again so do we because of our Horde days,” she said as if they had left long ago, it felt longer than it actually was. “They were from a village of farmers so a couple now about crops and plants. Besides that not much.”

“We could start some farming if they think it would grow, that and the birds would be a good source of steady food.”

“Are you teaching them to fight?” Catra looked blankly at her. “You said you were training tomorrow and they could join.”

“If they want to.” She shrugged. “But I’m not about to slow down because they are new to fighting. You can train too, it could be good if everyone did it; the last thing we need is to forget our skills. Everyone hates us.”

The last sentence sobering, they were unwanted and because of that and their numbers probably an easy target. “Yeah, I’ll ask the rest of they want to but I’m not sure if Scorpia or Roge will. They are in charge of the new buildings and training afterwards might be a bit much.”

Catra chuckled, “Perhaps for Rogelio but Scorpia is fine with it.”

“Do you think Kyle could defeat them?” Catra smirked amused at the question. “I would hope so, he has been training with us all his life.”

They watched the black sky a little longer until Catra said they should go and sleep a little, tomorrow would be a long day. Then again, every day was a long one for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think so far, like I said some of the characters will be only recurrent because I can’t really manage to make flesh out stories for 15 people at the same time.
> 
> What do you think of Lonnie and Catra? 
> 
> PS I am bringing together the super pal trio don’t worry it will have to come a little later on the story though. Right now we will just build our village slow and steady.


	6. Architects And Famers Aren’t We All?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With more hands they begin building and looking more like a settlement less like a camp. We get more interaction between the two groups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t checked for mistakes tell me if you want to, don’t be rude about it and I’ll do my best to change them. Enjoy.

When the new kids woke up the rest had been awake for some time. Kyle was preparing something for everyone, using the fruits and plants that they had collected before. Lonnie was counting things once more and moving some around.

Catra, Rogelio and Scorpia where around a box where Catra was drawing plans for their buildings, one thing she thanked was the stupid length that the Horde went to make their soldiers as productive as they could. She knew about construction and was the one that had paid the most attention to the steady and unsteady building of the Horde.

“Hey, you can all help Kyle with the food he is almost finished and we’ll be there in a second. You can tell us if you are staying or leaving afterwards I’m sure Catra and the rest of us would like to know.”

The group nodded and went to basically pick a plate and sit down waiting for the others to come and eat. Lonnie called the trio back and they sat down, small talk was made.

“Did you decide what you are doing or not?” Catra hadn’t participated, she ate in silence and responded to Scorpia’s remarks with nods or shakes.

“We are staying if the option still stands.” Aidan said, by far the one that was most comfortable talking to her. Just voice did waver a little but Catra made no remarks.

“Okay,” Catra didn’t smile nor looked around at the group turning to Lonnie. “I’m assuming you know how to divide them by skills?”

They had talked a bit about it the night before. “Yes, so far Rowan and Oakley will stay doing the same as yesterday. Aidan, Darvan and Lank will help with the buildings. Sibell, Selena and Kynz will go for plants and look if we can plant something as crops. Dedril will go with them gather some plants to make medicine, Alexander wanted to go hunt with you.”

If Catra had thoughts on Alexander she didn’t show them. “It is fine as long as he keeps up, the training I talked about still stands. You should all be able to defend yourselves and not rely on others to do so. I’m sure Rogelio can take one of you to help him out with more wood if needed.”

The group ate silently as they listened to the plan. It was good, and if they manage to get a house or two the tents could be used to scout farther away and look for more supplies.

“If you decide to leave at any point in time, let someone know.” The kids looked apprehensive. “I’m not telling you to leave children I’m telling you to talk, it will make out jobs easier if we know things before hand. You can stay if you want I don’t care and as you can see the rest of the group doesn’t either, they seem to like you. Alexander,” he stood up, “finish eating and meet me back at the truck I’m getting some supplies for the hunt.”

Not waiting for an answer, it seemed like she never did, Catra walked to the truck as she said thanks to Kyle for the food and gave the building plans to Lonnie.

“Is everyone a little scared of her?” Selena asked out loud to no one in particular.

“Not really, if she isn’t fighting you then you are fine.” Lonnie said thinking about their last couple of days, even at the Horde she wasn’t really scared of Catra.

“She is the one with the clearest plans so it makes sense that we listen to what she says. You’ve all seen that she isn’t one to dance around whatever we need to do and that is probably for the best.” Scorpia added finishing her meal. “You should go now, Catra isn’t waiting for you too long.”

Alexander nodded and thanked Kyle for the meal, and walking to the truck and meeting Catra as she was just walking out. “For a second I thought you weren’t coming, be silent and follow me. Do you know anything about hunting?”

He shook his head. “That’s fine, you can stay back, make sure you don’t make noise. If you can’t then we could set some traps for today and I’ll check them later.”

* * *

After they watched Catra and Alexander walk away Lonnie sent them out to their respective groups, she was going to watch for the buildings and the supplies. Hopefully the group manage to get one basic building that same day.

“So how do you all know each other?” Aidan asked Scorpia who was always more than happy to answer everyone’s questions.

“I was a Force Captain back in the Horde so a superior officer, the rest were in the same squad. We’ve known each other all of our lives, like you probably know your friends.”

He nodded, Rogelio kept working without saying much. So far Aidan had manage to notice a couple of things about the group. Catra was the leader, why was anyone’s guess, she was the one they went to when needing to make a decision. Lonnie was her second hand, she kept everyone organized.

Scorpia was the kindest and the one that knew the most about Catra, but she was a bit clumsy so that is why Aidan assume she wasn’t the girl’s right hand. Rogelio was quiet, nice in general but a man of few words, competent to make whatever they asked of him.

Kyle was a good cook, clumsy in every other thing. Rogelio had a soft spot for him; but so far he wasn’t one to bare other responsibilities, Aidan could see why.

“You think Alexander will be fine with her?” He asked a couple of hours later, Catra and him hadn’t returned yet and Aidan grew worried.

“If you are asking me if she can make sure they come back fine then yes, Catra can take a long time to come around if she leaves. You’ve seen she doesn’t like large groups.”

“Why?” Scorpia shrugged.

“I don’t really know and I haven’t asked. Catra isn’t one to give information of herself when asked, if she comes to me I listen and I can go to her and she’ll do the same.”

“Isn’t she lonely?” He blurted our without thinking.

“Aren’t we all? Look around kid, we are here because no one wants us.” Rogelio said from behind them, he had a point. A depressing one but a point nonetheless, they were rejects, renegades, unwanted.

“Don’t feel bad about it Aidan, you have us now. We can be lonely together.” Scorpia said with a bright smile while she moved one trunk as if it didn’t weight a bit. If the her good vibe ever changed he would surely become worried.

Perhaps this was the best decision they had made, they didn’t have to look for people to accept them. They didn’t have to travel anymore. They could rest their tired bodies and forget about being waste.

* * *

Catra didn’t talk, like nota word. Most things were communicated by signals, they got a couple of birds once more and managed to find more eggs. Alexander was sure they had been away for a couple of hours but Catra didn’t seemed to be bother by the physical aspect of the hunt, he wonder if she was hungry.

“Come here and I’ll show you how to make a bunny trap, I already set two and we’ll check if they have something.” He nodded and sat down beside her as she walked him through the process, slowly and corrected him.

“You’re a good teacher, you know what you are doing.” Alexander complemented her as they set his first trap.

“You don’t have to kiss my ass kid, nor be afraid as long as you don’t bring trouble. Not you and not your friends.” She said as they walked to one of the traps set before hand, they had already one bunny and by the looks of it the would have another one from this trap.

“How do you know where to put them?”

“You watch the forest, every animal leaves a trail. If the trail is clearly seen then it is common for at least one animal to be around the area.”

“I don’t really see a trail...” He said looking around. Catra had brought a bow and arrows, it wouldn’t be good to use a blaster here. Too much noise. She pointed at a print, perhaps a deer.

“You see this?” He nodded, “it is fresh, if you watch the ground around it you can tell that the soil is soft and given more time it would disappear.” She put her feet down and the print was now her own.

“Do you think you can be quiet enough for us to get that?” Catra asked and when he nodded she moved around fast and quietly with him right behind her.

Maybe 5 minutes later they stopped and watched a deer roaming alone, Alexander watched as Catra drew an arrow and pointed it directly to the deer. The animal went down in one shot.

“You should always try to make a fatal hit, the last thing you want is to make the beast suffer.” She said as she took the arrow out and tied its legs. “Get a stick long enough for us to hung it from and get it back.”

He nodded and did as he was told getting the trap too. They hadn’t killed the bunnies, it was something else they could raise if the others agreed. Seeing that they had meat with the dear they would probably think it was good.

The walk back was silent, Catra don’t ask him anything and Alexander wasn’t about to ask more than he already had. The group seemed nice enough and he wonder how the rest of his friends were doing. He was surprised when Catra offered him some berries, he hadn’t noticed if she had eaten any but Alexander was hungry and the pouch was thrown at him as if to give him permission to finish it.

Catra hadn’t eaten any.

* * *

“Alex! For a second we thought you weren’t coming back.” Darvan joked as he helped taking the traps from them, Kyle took the birds.

“We got more eggs and a couple of bunnies, we can raise them and get a consistent meat supply.” Catra said as they settled the deer with the rest of their supplies.

“I thought you would do something like that and made Roge built a small enclosure, we can leave them there for now. The eggs are back in the truck on some blankets and a box.” Lonnie said as she walked Catra to the enclosure.

“Good, I’ll help Kyle skin the deer, we could use the leather to make some clothes.” Catra wasn’t proficient in sewing but she was great at getting nice leather, it was the reason why her ‘uniforms’ didn’t match the rest of the Horde soldiers.

“I’ll see if any of them know how to make basic clothes if not we can figure something to trade to a village for clothing.”

Catra nodded, they made a good team. As far as she was aware none of the kids were trouble and had been useful, perhaps their luck was changing. She helped Kyle with the leather as he salted the meat, it would keep it from rotting and they could eat some for a quick snack.

The group had already eaten, which meant that her and Alexander ate alone. No one bothered them, but they did watched them from a distance. Catra assumed it was because they were waiting for her to start training, at least they were looking forward to that.

* * *

Catra stayed true to her words and didn’t slow down because the teens didn’t have training, which meant that the most confident of them, queue Darvan and Oakley, got their asses handed to them more than once.

The teens really didn’t know anything about fighting, Kyle being half the size of Lank had manage to pin him down without much effort. That gather chuckles from most and an amused smile from Catra.

“You don’t know anything about defense or attack...” She said to the indignation of the group. “Lonnie come here, let’s show them a bit of the basics.”

They were similar sizes and were by far the most technical of the group, meaning the cleanest ones to watch. They both showed how to throw a good punch and some basic blocking both fast and slow pace. Making them pair up to someone their size to practice.

Oakley managed to get thrown on their ass once more when Catra saw them messing around not really helping their twin. Let’s say she enjoyed it as much as the rest enjoyed them being put in their place for once.

When the training session was finished Selena asked why they need it. Catra looked at her seriously and the group got a little worried when she walked right up to the girl, Selena was the youngest of them.

“I believe you village was destroyed by the war, you lost your family and most of your friends.” She said not caring about the hurt look on the smaller girl.

“You don’t want that to be repeated. Knowledge is power, and if you know how to defend yourself then you won’t fear the consequences of the war. You won’t fear the soldiers that fight it and you won’t fear for your life, you’ll simply fight and survive.”

She looked back at the group. They didn’t seem to happy with her words but it wasn’t like Catra cared, she kept going.

“Everyone here from myself to you has lost everything. I as well as my group are all orphans, we don’t have families we never did. We were taken away by the Horde and trained as soldier, that is in essence what we are. Right now at war that is the most useful thing we have, we know our strengths and weaknesses.”

She pauses for a second and made a move on Lonnie which the girl blocked fast. She attacked as she talked.

“Our biggest strength now isn’t in numbers but in our own knowledge of how to take care of ourselves, how to work as a team.” Scorpia stood and attacked too with Catra as Rogelio and Kyle joined Lonnie it was a fair fight.

“We aren’t about to take things for granted,” she manage to pin Lonnie but Kyle got her side letting the her escape from Catra’s grasp. She raised her hand signaling for them to stop, and as soldiers they did immediately.

“Our biggest weakness is the fact that we aren’t welcome by either side of the war. We are hated by both the Rebellion and the Horde. Therefore knowing how to defend ourselves from both sides is imperative. You can train or not, but as far as I’m aware it would be beneficial for you even if you left.” With that Catra finished and walked away. If her squad had to bet she was checking the perimeter.

“Come on guys let’s prepare dinner and rest for the day.” Lonnie said to the stunned teens, they could wrap their minds around Catra’s words while they ate.

* * *

Catra came back much later that evening, nobody asked where she had been. That could be her way of letting her emotions settle and it would have to be okay with everyone.

They had manage to make three basic structures, basically the foundation of the buildings. It seemed like the group manage to work without problems, Scorpia and Lank making the heavier lifting while the rest worked on making the walls around the columns.

“I think we might have one or two of the houses ready tomorrow.” Lonnie informed Catra as they walked to the fire where the rest of the group was eating.

“That is good. We can start making furniture when te first one is ready, how is everyone settling down?”

“They haven’t given any problems, some jokes here and there but nothing that could cause real damage. Aidan has kept an eye on his part of the group while Dedril has looked for the other.” Catra nodded.

“And what about Rogelio, Kyle and Scorpia? Are they getting along with them?”

“Yeah, you know Scorpia can make friends with a tree if she wants and Kyle has been getting along with the twins more han fine. Rogelio doesn’t mind them, I think he enjoys the help and the fact that Kyle isn’t alone all the time.” Catra hummed and stayed silent as they reached the fire.

She wonder if this was going to become a thing, eating around the fire. It seemed like a good idea, everyone was doing fine as far as she could tell. Just like the night before they went silent as Catra sat down, would that be a thing too?

“I see everyone is doing fine. That’s good, Lonnie tells me that we might be able to finish one of the houses tomorrow. Does anyone know how to build furniture of any kind?” They had been responsive to her questions so maybe asking things would help them stop being so damn scared.

“I know a how to carve so I could make more plates and stuff but nothing like chairs or a table.” Sybell answered her voice soft and quiet. Catra sighed and was sure it was taken the wrong way.

“Okay let’s get things straight for everyone. You should not be afraid of me, I’m in the same situation as everyone of you I thought I had made that clear. Now the plate thing is good we can use that to trade with other villages later on. Anyone else knows something or about sewing? We got nice leather from the deer today it should be good to use tomorrow or the day after at the latest.”

“I know how to sew decently enough, Kynz dad used to make furniture so he might be of help with that.” Dedril answered, her voice was strong and didn’t waiver like Aidan’s or Selena’s.

Catra nodded, “that’s good. Kynz do you think you can try to make something tomorrow? We’ll see how things go from there.”

He nodded and everyone went back to eating, Scorpia ending the silence. Who else would’ve done it? This time they divide the group and some slept inside the truck. As every night before Catra checked the perimeter and then went back, better safe than sorry.

“Will it change if I make a schedule for us to take shifts?” Lonnie asked when she came back.

“I don’t think so, besides this kids don’t know how to defend themselves they barely know how to throw a punch. I don’t mind the night walk, I don’t enjoy sleeping as much as the rest.” The last sentence mumbled and Lonnie knew better than to press, they would be fine and if something happened she hoped Catra let them help.


	7. They Aren’t Bad We Are All The Same

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both groups move pass their differences and while they might be reluctant at times things seem a little brighter than before, until it doesn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a much heavier chapter, nothing to bad happens but it isn’t all good as we have had so far.

They manage indeed to finish two of the buildings. The twins as well as Catra and Alexander had helped this time and they had moved much faster. Kyle being helped by Sybell and Dedril, the leather need more time to be ready. Kynz and Selena where left to try to make something out of the wood they had found.

In the end Kynz had manage to make a table steady and big enough for them to sit around, they still ate outside by the fire. It was placed inside the biggest house, they could use it to plan things there. Selena proved to be much more proficient than Catra had thought and made a couple of plates and cups, they could definitely trade those.

Catra trained once more with her squad members and some of the new ones but not everyone was fit enough to train everyday. She could understand that, Dedril made sure everyone went back to bed without much pain.

The next couple of weeks went routinely. Build, cook, harvest, hunt your pick. Early breakfast, followed by the group dividing. Lonnie checked with Catra each morning and night, they planned their activities for the next day. The training remained in the afternoons and the kids got little by little the hang of it.

But all good things come to an end.

* * *

Catra heard a noise, an unfamiliar noise. That was never good; she rose from where she was sleeping and followed it. She need to check everything was fine, which in hindsight she knew it wasn’t.

It was a little farther from their settlement. She moved silently using the natural sounds of the forest to avoid being detected, thanking for once the fact that moving silently was so fucking necessary back in the Horde.

The noise was a truck, a Horde truck. They seemed to be moving parallel to their settlement, but to close for Catra’s liking. They couldn’t pack and move now that they had buildings and more people, if it came to something it would be fighting.

She followed it thanking the woods for making the truck move slow enough for her to keep up. Catra frowned as she found herself in front of what looked like a camp, why was the Horde so deep into the Whispering Woods? They were terrified of them.

She looked around and saw a lonely soldier patrolling, they needed to be far more careful. For all the time the war had been fought Catra wondered how the Horde had made it thus far.

Catra took the soldier down and put on the uniform, she tied him up to a tree hoping that he would stay knocked out for a while. It was a good thing that she knew the Horde better than anyone, even Adora. Because the girl believed everyone was as strict with their duty as her she wasn’t aware that it was easier to blend in if you slacked a little.

Walking confidently inside she made sure to keep her eyes open and tried to here as much information as she could. If given the chance she would take a couple of blasters and another vehicle, with some fuel. It would be wise to have them if things got ugly.

“I know! Can you believe that they got that freak princess, Shadow Weaver has been trying to question her but she seems to crazy even for the witch.” The soldier laughed, “left behind by the others what a great team to be with.”

“Hey at least she is good with tech, I mean we have made it far with the new robots.”

“Yeah, I guess. Still I don’t know what they want from her it isn’t like Hordak enjoys being near other people and besides the tech thing she has nothing to give. How long do you give her?”

“A couple of weeks at best, we all know Shadow Weaver isn’t patient at all. When she gets bored of not getting Adora she’ll send her to Beast Island for sure.”

That didn’t make sense, Adora wasn’t one to leave people behind. Well not anyone besides her but that had been because of her ideals or whatever.

Catra made her exit quickly, taking what she could and going back to her home. Was it a home? It had been the closest she had to a home. She made sure to get the tracker of before even leaving the camp, in her way back Catra radio their truck and let Lonnie know she was she one coming.

Things we’re about to get messy.

* * *

“What the fuck were you thinking!?” That was the greeting Catra received from Lonnie, it was fair.

“I wanted to see what the Horde was doing roaming around our settlement.” She answered as if that would be enough for Lonnie.

“Why didn’t you tell us? Someone else could’ve gone with you.”

“Too dangerous, if they had caught two of us then who is left to protect the rest and teach them to do so. It was the smart decision, also I had to follow a truck, most here can’t keep up with that.” Catra had a point there, maybe Lonnie and the twins (they were fast but inexperienced).

“Don’t do that shit again, it puts everyone in danger. Did you manage to get something besides what is in the truck?” Lonnie said not wanting to fight nor letting Catra get away with that.

“The apparently have a princess as a prisoner. They called her a freak? Some kind of tech genius.”

“Oh! That has to be Entrapta! She is great we have talked a couple of time and she is very nice.” Scorpia was a princess, she had told Catra before but the girl never made a point of telling others; perhaps it was for the best.

“They said Shadow Weaver is keeping her.” The squad shuddered and the other teens looked puzzled.

“Is that a bad thing?” Alexander asked, he had become more comfortable talking around Catra specially as they hunted together.

“Shadow Weaver is a witch, in every sense of the word. The woman is evil and uses her power to torture everyone who isn’t Adora.” It had been a long time since she had said her name. “If Entrapta is in her claws then she is in deep shit.”

“We have to help her!” Scorpia and her sweet naive heart. It was a suicide mission to go back for Entrapta, as much as it pained the woman it wasn’t really on their cards.

“I don’t think we can, I could try to go alone but I can’t promise you that we would make it back. It is way different to get inside and out of a camp and from the Fright Zone.”

“I just told you not to try something like that again!” Lonnie shouted exasperated.

“You told me to tell you before hand and I’m doing so, it isn’t like you can keep me here. But I’m laying it all down it is most likely a failure mission, I can’t guarantee anyone that tries it would come back. I would feel better if I do it alone.” Catra said seriously and calm, it was outstanding how the girl kept it together.

“You could get trapped forever, sent to Beast Island or killed in the process.” Kyle said somberly. It wasn’t like Catra wasn’t aware.

“I know, but that could be our chance to leave a clue to the other soldiers that want out.” That hit a nerve, Lonnie had asked for that before they left the Fright Zone and it would be the perfect chance. “I can leave something behind to let them know.”

“Why would you do it? You were the one running away from the Horde in the first place.” Lonnie pushed this time it was necessary.

“Because I know what it’s like to be trapped in the hands of Shadow Weaver and Hordak! Because I’m the best one to tell you that Entrapta won’t make it out of there alive! Because I don’t think anyone deserves to be tortured! Not even Shadow bitch or idiot Hordak!”

There it was an admission. The first time Catra had raised her voice and let emotions showed since they had left the Horde. The first time most of them saw the pain behind the mask. The first time someone had said out loud that not even Shadow Weaver or Hordak deserves the punishment that Catra herself had suffered by their hands.

She was met with silence, composing herself for a second before speaking again. Calm and collected as if she hadn’t just blown up on Lonnie. “I’m going to try, none of you should come. I’ll take the new truck and if you don’t hear from me in the next month you should assume I didn’t make it. Lonnie knows how to run things and Kyle, Rogelio and Scorpia should be able to finish your combat training.”

Catra turned around to leave only to be stoped by a hand on her shoulder, she didn’t turned around. “Be safe and come back.”

“I’ll do my best.” She could be promise anything more. They watched her leave that night back to the place that plague her nightmares. Back to the torturers and jailers. Back to her first home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now know about Entrapta and she has been captured too. Poor Catra can’t get a break.
> 
> I know this one is relatively short but well, it needed to be this long. Let me know how you’re liking the story and Catra’s character as a whole...


	8. Why?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra goes back to the Fright Zone while the rejects continue to grow their settlement, hoping the girl hasn’t run into her death sentence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now we have something going on, we are getting into the meat and potatoes of the story. Will Catra be able to get Entrapta out of the Fright Zone? Will the Horde and the Rebellion remain unaware of the fact that there is now a group that doesn’t fall into their respective ranks as ally or for?
> 
> As always if you find a mistake you can let me know and I’ll correct it, don’t be rude about it, jokes are always welcomed :)

“Was there a chance we could’ve convinced her to stay?” Alexander asked Lonnie as they all watched Catra leaving towards the Fright Zone.

“I don’t think so... Catra is stubborn, too stubborn for her own good. For now the only thing we have to do is hope for the best, it isn’t like she was wrong when she said it was a suicide mission.”

Lonnie felt a bit guilty. She had asked Catra to leave something for others in the Horde, to some extent this mission was to grant her that. Why had Catra decided to help her with that she couldn’t figure out.

The girl had actually escaped from there, she was the worst one treated and that was pretty bad considering no one was really treated good in the Horde. Was it some sense of morality? Something like Adora’s need to always do what was right?

No, it couldn’t be that. Catra would’ve left when Adora gave her the chance, it had to be something else. Was it pity? Did she get bad for the rest of the people suffering? Maybe...

It would be great if she managed to pull this off, however the chances were greatly stacked against her. Thinking about it this wasn’t too different as the normal conditions of Catra all throughout her life.

Yeah... if anyone could be able to pull this off it would be Catra. She had to do it, she had to come back.

When the truck was off their sight Lonnie made everyone return to their tasks, they could distract themselves by working. Catra would be able to come back and rest afterward.

* * *

“Is it my fault?” Scorpia would ask Lonnie later that night. Was it? Not really.

“Catra made her own decision, you know we wouldn’t be able to stop her when she made up her mind.” Lonnie said smiling sympathetically, not wanting to think about how would Scorpia take the death of Catra.

“But if I hadn’t said anything she wouldn’t have offered to go.” Her demeanor only a shadow of what it usually was.

“If we go by that then it is also my own fault. You heard her say that she would do it to leave the option open to other possible defectors. That was all my idea, she said no before.”

“Catra didn’t say no, she said not right then.”

“Then she would’ve returned eventually to leave it. We can’t blame ourselves Scorp, it won’t change anything nor it will help in any way.” Scorpia perked a little from the nickname. “The only thing left is continue as we had planned and hope that she comes back in one piece.”

Scorpia nodded and they both turned for the night, they had walked around the perimeter. Well Scorpia had seen Lonnie and joined her, Catra had been right about the need to make sure the surrounding area was safe.

* * *

“Do you still think they are awful people?” Aidan asked Selena and Sybell a couple of day after Catra had left.

“If you are trying to make us feel guilty then you are doing a shitty job, everyone feels guilty for thinking badly of them... of her.” Sybell said not looking at him.

“Would you have gone back?” Selena asked them after a couple of minutes. “After being treated like that?”

“We don’t even know how they were treated...” Sybell said weakly, it was a cop out.

“I don’t think so.” Aidan answered truthfully, if he was tortured somewhere he wouldn’t willingly go back for someone else. Not at the risk of his own life.

“I don’t think I could do it either.” Selena said looking at the plate she had been working on, it had an intricate pattern of flowers. It was taking her much longer than the others, but she needed something to avoid thinking about Catra. If she came back the she could have it.

* * *

The drive to the Fright Zone would’ve been a full day if she didn’t stop. However, Catra knew it wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. She would end up getting there tired and she needed to be at her best if she wanted a chance to succeed.

Was it a bad decision? Probably, but Catra would be damned before she let someone else suffer in the hands of Shadow Weaver. If her hands trembled or her tailed moved nervously, you wouldn’t be able to tell she was anything but calm.

She stopped a little over half way, she would stay there. It would give her enough time to compose herself. They hadn’t left too long ago and there was a chance they would simply assume she was capture and the escaped.

Shadow Weaver didn’t care to make sure anyone that wasn’t Adora made it back. It wasn’t like Hordak care enough to ask her either, how were they giving the princesses a run for their money was anyone’s guess. It honestly baffled Catra the level of incompetence those two shared.

Them again wars are won and fought by soldiers, and if the Horde had one good thing was it’s pawns. The soldiers were well trained and if they wanted to survive they needed to work, slaking or making a mistake was punished severely.

The punishments were also progressively worse, which meant most soldiers outgrew the idea or want to mess up. You can only get shocked so many times before you do anything in your power to avoid it, not like Catra was ever able to avoid getting punished.

Not really wanting to stay inside the truck Catra climbed up a tree high enough to remain hidden and deicidas to take a nap. She wouldn’t be able to sleep when she went back to the Fright Zone... well it wasn’t like she slept a lot back in the settlement, then again who sleeps fine when their sleep is plagued with nightmares.

If there was one thing Catra missed about Adora was sleeping next to her. The girls slept like a log, or she did compared to Catra, and it was easier to go back to sleep being soothed by the soft snores and the rise and fall of her chest. Not that Catra would ever admit it.

She was woken up by something falling on her head and she stood up ready to fight only to find...

“Razz?” The woman was sitting in front of her as if they had decided to come up to have a cup of tea.

“Catra deary! I didn’t know when you’d wake up, here have some tea.” She said as she handed Catra a cup, how did she manage to get up with what was a warm cup of tea Catra didn’t know.

“Why are you here?” If she wasn’t shocked and a little drowsy from her nap Catra would’ve been impressed.

“I saw you when I came out to pick berries and thought you might want a cup of tea.” Razz was surely interesting, Catra had yet to know someone as particular as her.

“You’re very far from home Razz.” They were relatively near to the Fright Zone and by default the edge of the Whispering Woods.

“Ah yeah, I suppose...” Razz smiled and took a sip from her own cup. “You always worry about me, I should be worrying about you instead.”

“What do you mean?” Catra tensed, the woman was fine but that didn’t mean she trusted her.

“You should be careful Catra, the Fright Zone is a dangerous place.” Razz said seriously. The girl was shocked, how did she even know. “It is full with sorrow and pain, misguided souls and wishes. It could hurt you badly, you could lose yourself there.”

“I don’t follow.”

“Don’t forget what you have right now my dear. Don’t forget what they have done and what they are willing to do.” With that Razz stood up and jumped down.

“Wait! Razz! What do you mean!?” Catra shouted as the woman walked (more like jogged) away.

“You’ll know when the time comes Catra deary! Come by later and we’ll make more pie for you and your friends!”

That was the last interaction Catra had with someone before getting back to the Fright Zone. A warning about the dangers she already knew like the back of her hand, the people and punishments that plagued her nightmares.

* * *

The rest of the drive wasn’t as long as Catra wished it had been, it wasn’t like she got any of the things she wished for. Not wanting to make her presence known was difficult, but she could put on a full uniform and the rest wouldn’t recognize her. She hoped they wouldn’t.

It was uncomfortable and painful around her ears but safe, and it wasn’t the worst thing that she had endured. Catra parked the truck on the outskirts of the Fright Zone taking the keys with her and entering by foot, they patrolled the Fright Zone just like they patrolled everywhere else, which made it easy to see other soldiers walking around.

She made sure her tail was wrapped around her right leg so that it wasn’t noticeable. Catra made sure to repeat what Razz had said, it was good advise even if it had come without her asking for it.

She walked to Scorpia’s old room, if you wanted even a little bit of kindness you went to Scorpia which was always happy to give it to everyone. It wouldn’t be suspicious for her to walk there, it was an unspoken rule that you didn’t talk about looking comfort or any sort. That was a weakness unacceptable for a Horde soldier.

Knowing that there wasn’t really privacy at the Horde other soldiers where bound to come inside the room. She had already thought about how she would make the group's existence known.

As a Force Captain Scorpia owned a couple of maps, which meant that they could be found scattered around her room. She marked a location near the settlement but not close enough to find them if it was seen by unwanted eyes.

The mark was an Scorpion, it wouldn’t be too farfetched for Scorpia to do that. If you turned the map you’d see at the bottom left corner a small cat next to the word free. It wasn’t much but it was all she could leave for others to find right now, hopefully someone got the memo and could spread the word around carefully.

Not wanting to deal with questions the ventilation system was a good idea to move around. She climbed and went towards Shadow Weavers chambers, if she had the princess there was a chance she was keeping as close as possible. Besides if Entrapta wasn’t there then she could just go to the cells and get out as fast as possible.

“I thought I made myself clear! You need to advance the troops and forget about that child!” Hordak always had a temper...

“But my lord-” It was funny how someone that managed to scare the crap out of her could sound so small.

“No more excuses. I don’t care if she is the daughter of a God, she left which means she is an enemy and should be dealt with accordingly.” If there was anyone less patient than Shadow Weaver it was Hordak, he hated incompetence.

“Yes my lord.” Maybe that’s why the woman was the biggest bitch ever to walk Etheria. Nobody likes being treated badly, not even Shadow Weaver.

“You’re dismissed, the princess has been here long enough too. Send her to Beast Island, we don’t need her and she doesn’t seem to know anything useful about the Rebellion.” Great that was good! It was too late to send someone to Beast Island so they would keep the princess inside the prison.

“As you wish, anything else?”

“Don’t forger you place Shadow, I will take matters into my own hands if I have too but you’ll suffer the consequences if it came to that.” The way he said her name made Catra’s skin crawl, why were there assholes of this magnitude walking freely on Etheria?

She made her way back to Scorpia’s room but stayed hidden in the air ducts, she’d have to wait a bit to make sure Entrapta was resting on a cell before waking there. Hopefully they had been dumb enough not to change the codes, if that wasn’t the case a stun gun was always an option. A much riskier option but and option nonetheless.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’ll leave it at that right now. Do you think we’ll see SW and Catra meet again or will she be able to get out without facing her abuser?
> 
> I’m hoping everyone is enjoy reading the story as much as I’m enjoying writing it. Let me know what you think about it so far and what you think might happen next.


	9. All good things come to an end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The continuation of the rescue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wasn’t proof read, let me know if there are any mistakes and I’ll do my best to correct them. I feel kind of bad for this chapters situation so sorry in advance.

Being raised to avoid getting in trouble meant that Catra was used to spending long periods of time in one position. Most of the times it was an uncomfortable position, others a painful one. This wasn’t too harsh, with the exception of the smell the air ducts were fine.

She waited patiently, perhaps she should have checked Shadow Weavers chambers. Not a place she wanted to enter.

Catra let herself drift into her own mind, it was a good trick she had learned early on to deal with whatever torture they decided to put her on. It would usually drift to Adora and the things they would do after she was done, it wasn’t like the girl was aware of a quarter of the punishments.

To some extent she wanted to recent Adora, how could someone be so naive? How could you not realize that everyone around you was suffering? How could you be so blind?

Despite everything Adora remained the chosen one, the special girl. The gift to the planet, the treasure not only of Shadow Weaver but now of the Rebellion. It pained Catra to think about it.

She should’ve grown angry and bitter, resentful. Then again what did she get from that? Only her own suffering, she had suffered enough to last several lifetimes. It wasn’t Adora’s fault, it was the sick universe telling the girl with the hero complex that she was exactly what she had been thought all throughout her life.

If Catra was honest she pitied Adora, everyone expected so much from her. On the other hand the only one to actually believe in Catra had always been herself, sure Adora and even sometimes Scorpia had shown concern but belief? Not really, after all Adora was okay with Catra being her sidekick and Scorpia didn’t really get the need for praise.

It sounded so pathetic, but so did Catra’s entire life therefore this was pretty on brand for her.

She shook her head and got out making her way to the cafeteria. Catra knew they would have to give Entrapta some food and it would be easy to pose as the guard doing it.

Catra walked with confidence all the way to the prison, she checked quickly on the screen which was Entrapta’s cell. Fast she needed to be fast, hopefully the princess was awake and could walk.

Cell 2057 Freak, how original... She paced herself, the Horde soldiers wouldn’t be happy to serve the princess it would be suspicious if she seemed to eager or fidgety.

Catra reached the cell and typed the code that was used for dangerous prisoners, thanking the heavens when the door opened.

“I’m here to bring you your food.” Catra said trying to see if the princess would answer in some way. The purple hair parted, and she could see the unsure face of Entrapta. There was a clear bruise on her right cheek.

“You should eat.” She settle the food down near the girl without touching her and taking a couple of steps back. She was clearly scared.

“I’m here to take you out.” Entrapta looked at her but then fidgeted with her hands as if she was unsure what that meant. Hoping to get a reaction or a word out of her Catra added, “Scorpia sent me.”

“Scorpia isn’t here anymore?” Entrapta sounded surprised, maybe she had assumed that her friend was there or maybe Shadow Weaver had told her that. Catra wouldn’t put it pass her to use their relationship as a way of torture.

“She left with me sometime ago, it wasn’t safe. I can take you to her if you want to.” Catra talked slowly as if she was treating a small child, the orphans recruited often looked at her to play or get their questions answered since she would and receive the heat if it came down with consequences.

“I don’t know you, you could be the masked woman once more.” Entrapta shook her head as if things didn’t make sense. Shadow Weaver tended to have that effect on people. Confusion can be painful, especially if you don’t know what you can and can’t trust.

“I don’t know if Scorpia has ever talked about me on your letters but I know she cares very much. She wanted to come herself but it would’ve been too dangerous, it is very risky as it is. I need to get you out tonight because they are sending you to Beast Island tomorrow. That is a death sentence.”

Catra didn’t mean to frighten the girl, but they needed to move. The faster they got out the better. If she stayed too long it would raise suspicion, Entrapta stayed put as if weighing her options. Okay change of plans.

“Scorpia told me you are a genius, that you know a lot about tech. It would help us a lot if you stayed and build things, we are staying on the Whispering Woods but only have basic things, nothing very advance in terms of tech. It would be a good challenge.”

Entrapta’s eyes widen and she stood up, her frame was small and she was shaking but it would have to do. “I’m going to have to keep you in shackles so that they don’t think something is wrong.”

Entrapta nodded. “Open you mouth, this is going to be uncomfortable but they won’t think about it.” Catra put a small key inside, “don’t swallow it.”

Catra let the restrains free from the wall and looked at Entrapta once more checking for possible injuries, nothing too bad had happened so far. “I’m going to stay behind you the whole time, if I tell you to run you do it without looking back.”

She raised her pants and stuffed a paper on her boot. “That is a rough map, you should be able to get to the truck I have just outside the Fright Zone. If you manage to get to the Whispering Woods move East, hopefully you’ll find the settlement.”

It was a run down of what should be done in the worst scenario, one in which Cata definitely stayed behind. Entrapta nodded and they began to move, now things were real.

* * *

“We can start growing some crops where we took down the trees, the ground is already almost prepared and it doesn’t have a lot of irregularities.” Lonnie nodded at Alexander, it would be good to use that land.

“Okay, do you have whatever you want to grow? Or are we going to have to look for the seeds?”

“I was thinking we could trade some for wood. The winter will come soon enough and everyone will need firewood, we have plenty and can get more if needed.” He wasn’t sure what she would tell him, they had yet to make an excursion outside of the settlement (village? Could they start calling it a small village?)

“Who would go?” If Alexander had learned something from his time with the ex-Horde soldiers was that they didn’t like dancing around subjects for long, if ever.

“I could go with Rowan, maybe Sybell too.” He had asked before hand and the pair had told him they would be up for it.

“Do you think you could manage to get some clothes too? We could trade some birds or fish too if more was needed.” They needed to get clothing for everyone, Lonnie had noticed. Especially for the ones that were still growing, which meant Selena and Kyle were a priority.

“Sure, you want to get rid of the uniforms?” They had grown much more comfortable around the group and were able to ask questions and deal with the answers, sometimes they didn’t relate to the questions themselves.

“Yeah that would be ideal,” he nodded. “However, I know we need to get clothing for everyone especially Selena and Kyle, the will grow out of the ones they own soon. So you should try to get something for them first and then if possible for the rest of us.”

You would think that they would’ve grown accustomed to the manner in which the original group treated them, you’d be wrong. The other teens were often cast aside by the people that you’d expect to help them, the other Etherians and some on the royal ambassadors.

“Yes, when should we leave?”

“It would be better to wait until tomorrow. Get everything prepared today, forget training and make sure that Sybell and Rowan are okay leaving with you. If not I’m sure Roge or Scorp can go.”

“Both?” Wouldn’t it be better to use few people?

“You are still training to defend yourselves, it would be stupid for us to send you away only as a pair. You are a good student as well as Rowan and Sybell, however you wouldn’t stand a chance against a proper trained soldier. Numbers give you some advantage.”

“Don’t they travel in legions or something like that?” Alexander wasn’t sure about how the Horde moved around but it would certainly be more than just three people.

“Not that many, usually you patrol with a partner if there are soldiers available. And scouts travel alone, so you should be able to get one more than them at all times. Avoid them if possible, make sure you take a couple of blasters just in case. Keep them hidden for as long as possible.”

Lonnie had given them the option to train with some of the weapons they had, while some preferred hand to hand combat others liked the blasters and the bow and arrows. Everyone had their own strengths, it was useful to have more than just one way of attacking.

“Okay, we’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

“Go North, follow the stream, you are likely to find a village near it. Make sure you tell me the amount of everything you’ll be taking, it would be a good reference for the next possible deals.” Lonnie said before he walked away.

They were starting to work like a well oiled machine, it was easier when they had Lonnie, Rogelio, Scorpia or Kyle in charge since they kept everyone working. It didn’t seem like they knew much about having fun except sitting down and talking.

* * *

Entrapta had kept quiet as Catra lead them out of the prison. Confidence will get you anywhere, so far that worked like a charm. They needed t make it out before Shadow Weaver got word that one Entrapta was being moved and two Catra was there, and the one moving her.

Catra cursed in her mind as she felt her sense heightening, that meant Shadow Weaver was close. She pushed Entrapta inside the ventilation system and whispered as calmly as she could “get out of here.”

The princess looked hesitant but nodded slightly and started moving when Catra unshackled her. They wouldn’t make it both out of Shadow Weaver got them together.

“Well I was starting to wonder if you were just going to disappoint further...” Of course even with the uniform she could tell it was Catra.

“Yeah well I’m here so I guess you are right?” It wasn’t a complement, the woman wasn’t happy to see her. Then again she was only happy to see Adora.

“Don’t insolent! You’d do well to remember that here the only value you have is being Adora’s pet.” That hurt, but Catra knew better than to let it show. It was just Shadow Weaver letting her frustration out on her.

“She isn’t here and by the looks of it won’t come back, you should get a knew favorite.” Catra said with a smirk, it was a dangerous game. Everything was dangerous in the Fright Zone.

“Do you want me to remember you what you are good for? Nothing but a filthy animal.” This was bad Shadow Weaver was getting angry, fuck why couldn’t she keep her mouth shut... because it would’ve been suspicious, right.

“It wouldn’t be the first time. You are getting sloppy with your threats Shadow Weaver, at this point it isn’t like you have anything new to offer.” Catra stood up straight and smirked at the sorcerer, only for it to be erased when she wasn’t able to move.

“There is a small machine Hordak has been wanting to try, I’m sure he would love to see you offering to be his lab rat.” Fuck, anything made by Hordak was bad news.

Shadow Weaver let them to Hordak’a sanctum, fantastic this was a great way to die. At the hands of the Horde because she was helping someone else, did the universe hate her that much? Had she been awful in a previous life?

“My lord, this Cadet is willing to let you try your new machine on her.” If it wasn’t for the mask Catra was sure they would see a smirk on her face.

“That is good, I do appreciate loyalty and bravery in my rank.” If she wasn’t sure that the machine was going to hurt her Catra might have felt a little better with the praise, however, she was anything but loyal to the prick.

Shadow Weaver let her to the center of the room, with her magic meaning it was certainly going to be unpleasant if she wasn’t coming near. Hopefully it was just unpleasant.

“You can leave Shadow Weaver.” As the woman left Catra heard the machine start and felt her lungs fight for air, as if it was being sucked.

“It’s a shame you all are so weak, it seems like you all could use a little upgrade.” He said walking towards Catra as she started to lose consciousness. “I’d say this was a nice experiment. Imp let me know you left for a second, expect to be moved out of the Fright Zone to the Crimson Waste. The transport to Beast Island will be occupied so feel lucky.”

That was the last thing she remembered before passing out.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you people think? We are in for a ride from now on, so many things are about to happen. Yet we still have so many questions, what are your theories about what might happen and what has happened between the Rebellion an the Horde? 
> 
> Let me know in the comments :)


	10. The consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra is taken to Beast Island and Entrapta, well she needs to figure things out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m going to stop telling you people that I didn’t check the grammar or spelling because at this point you should all be aware of that fact. 
> 
> Anyway enjoy the story.

Catra woke up in a cell, she wasn’t surprised. Breathing hurt, it burned every time she took even a small breath. She wonder if Entrapta had made it out, Catra had told the princess she was to leave her behind if they got separated. Looking at the ceiling she hoped the girl listened.

Her mind drifted to the settlement. Were they okay? Did they decide to grow something? What about their training? Was Lonnie making sure everything ran smoothly?

Would she be able to get back there? It wasn’t her main concern, by morning Shadow Weaver would know that Entrapta was gone. Catra could only hope that her move to the Crimson Waste was made before that, it had been a lackluster punishment. Probably because Hordak assume that she had been simply incompetent not that she had defected and then came back.

That had been lucky, she sighed and closed her eyes. How were things going in regards to the war? They seemed like nothing was too bad for either side. She wonder if Adora thought about her.

Catra let herself indulge recalling the few good memories she had with Adora back when they were kids, when they were together. It hurt but they had made their choices, Adora taking the Rebellion’s side and Catra... well she was tired.

* * *

Entrapta was confused. Scorpia’s friend had freed her, but she had manage to listen to the scary Shadow woman. Was the girl going to be okay? By her own knowledge she wasn’t, if the Shadow woman had caught her doing something she didn’t like Scorpia’s friend was in trouble.

Then again she had told her to escape alone if she said “get out of here”, Entrapta moves through the ventilation system trying to follow the rough map Scorpia’s friend had given her. There was supposed to be a truck waiting for her at the end, the key she had put inside her mouth had tone the one needed to drive.

That made leaving the girl behind the only logical conclusion, Scorpia’s friend expected her to leave. Entrapta wanted to leave, she wanted to be as far as she could from the Shadow woman. The lady was bad news.

She looked back as she reached the truck, it had been relatively easy to move without being spotted. Maybe she could bring help, it would be much easier to get Scorpia’s friend with more people. Yes! That’s what Entrapta was going to do.

Entrapta started the truck and drove away, leaving that awful place behind. When she reached the Whispering Woods she remembered Scorpia’s friend telling her to drive East. She was supposed to look for a settlement, who was she going to find? With luck not more of the Horde people, those were bad news.

* * *

She didn’t look at the soldiers pushing her around, there was no use. Still she kept her amused and cocky smirk, they weren’t going to break her. She was way pass that, the mission had been a success for all intents and purposes.

“I always wonder when you would either lose you mind or get send away cadet.”

“You’re personally driving me? I feel so dignified...” Catra looked at the woman in front of her, if she was suffering shortly she might as well have a little fun. “Or is that word to big for you stupid face? Sorry Octavia.”

The woman huffed but kept her composure, in the eyes of the rest, Catra could see the fire in her now lonely eye. “You aren’t worth anyone’s time now that Adora isn’t here to protect you. I don’t know why she would be fond of a useless pet.”

Catra cackled, Octavia was too easy. This was fun, it was one of the great things about the Fright Zone. Probably the only one, the amount of sass and cheeky remarks was endless. After all how else where you supposed to distract your peers so you could rise above them.

Octavia looked at her puzzled, if living this long with Catra had taught her something was that the girl was unpredictable. However her actions were measured, at this point in her live Catra did everything with intent.

The soldier shrugged, it wasn’t her problem anymore. Not even Catra could manage to get out of this punishment. She couldn’t think of it was worse or better than Beast Island, at least there you were supposed to die fast; how different and much more painful was to die of thirst and hunger forgotten in a waste land?

They drove silently, and after a couple of hours the transport stopped. Octavia took of the restrains and pushed Catra out, throwing a canteen as if it was mercy.

“You should’ve listened and stayed in line kid.” It didn’t get easier to send people to die, nor it did to fight but that was the only choice.

“It would happen eventually dumb face... we both know Shadow Weaver would’ve found a way to push me aside one way or another.” She shrugged and took the canteen, turning around to the dessert before her.

“Get back to getting you asses kicked by the Rebellion, or leave those idiots behind. Choose wisely.” Catra looked over her shoulder for a second. “The patch looks good on you Octavia.”

The woman was left shocked and watched the dessert disappear on the horizon. What was going through Catra’s head? What did she mean by leaving them behind? They couldn’t, it just wasn’t in the cards.

Catra counted to ten in her head and wondered what could be worse than getting sand all over her fur. She started walking, staying still would kill her. If she was lucky she would find something to eat and a place to st-.

What the fuck is a... building? Doing in the middle of what was demeaned inhabitable land... Was Hordak unhappy with incompetent folks because they outshined him in his level of dumbassery?

She entered and sat at the bar, surrounded by criminals? Probably, it didn’t matter.

“Hey outsider!” Outsider? That sounded so weak, Catra chuckled. They could do better than that, she was already an outsider every were so that didn’t change if she left the Crimson Waste.

“Hey! I’m talking to you Kitty!” A big woman walked to her and tried to grab her, no fucking way she was letting this numskulled get her.

Catra jumped in a swift motion stepping on the woman’s back, turning around with a smirk. It could be fun, a different adversary. “What do you want meathead?”

She wasn’t happy but the scowl on her face but this could be so fun... everyone had to admit every now and then if people wanted to get a ride from you it was exhilarating to give in.

“My name is Huntara and...”

“Look I don’t care what your name is, can you get me out of this place and somewhere near the Whispering Woods?” This people tended to understand things only when you threw them straight at their faces.

“Why would I help you insolent child?” Care kept her body relax, mind always sharp. A wrong move was deathly, survival instincts kicking in. This Huntara would have an advantage in terms of size and strength, but most of the time big size meant slow.

“You don’t have to, I just want to get out of her. I’m not really welcome here nor anywhere else so I want to move out.” She wasn’t looking for unnecessary trouble, as fun as a not so serious fight could be this wasn’t familiar territory. By the amount of eyes watching the woman held some respect at the very least.

“Why would you come here just to leave?”

“Look muscles I was dropped here to die by the Horde. I just want to live my life freely and away of he stupid war that doesn’t concern my rejected ass. Now tell me yes or no, or point me in a direction and I’ll do the rest.”

“You’ll die when you enter the woods.” Huntara seemed surprised, if given the chance Etherians always avoided the woods. Too unpredictable, too many dangers.

“I could, but I could also die in the front, of hunger or thirst, attacked by a wild beast, poisoned by a plant, attacked by a criminal or an ass like yourself; and in the dumbest scenario killed by slipping and breaking my neck.”

This Huntara wasn’t used to being antagonized, why were they afraid of her? She seemed to be pondering her options, however, Catra lacked both patience and time in this particular situation. She turned to leave only to feel the woman reached for her once more.

She turned quickly stepping aside making her stumble for a second. Don’t let her touch you.

“You would pay?” Ah, this she was familiar with. This is an easier game, a mind one, cost vs reward. What was Catra willing to pay to get out of this place?

“I can’t really pay you any money.” Lying wasn’t going to get her anywhere. “But I can give you and any of this lowlifes an option.”

That turned the rest of the faces around. Now they were beings watched unabashedly by all the patrons, Catra was holding the better hand.

“And what could you possibly offer to any of us that we can’t have here? If not money then what kid?” Easy Huntara had walked right into the bait and took it more than willingly.

“You can stay here and live off scraps and bounties, whatever the fuck you do, or you could come with me to a new village I’m settling.” It didn’t seem like much and the laugh she got from the woman was exactly the reaction she expected.

“Kid why would we leave and be ruled by the kingdoms or the Horde? You are crazy if you think anyone would follow you.” Huntara turned to leave.

“Maybe, but I’m a reject.” Huntara stopped, first strike.

“I don’t belong with the princess and as you can see I was just left to die by the Horde.” Her arms crossed, second strike.

“I’m frankly tired of everything from both sides, and I’m not about to bow to anyone. I can manage just fine in the woods, the only reason I was bright here was because I went back for someone that was left behind in the Fright Zone. Which means I need to get back to the group and make sure she made it. But you can sit here and rot, live of the waste and never thrive, be mediocre as I believe everyone here has been told.” Huntara turned around serious strike three.

“There are more people in the Crimson Waste that anyone knows kid, how would you take everyone? You know we are lowlifes, how would you keep peace?” Catra smiled she had gotten through Huntara. You could get through everyone simply by thinking ahead.

“I’m sure we can make arrangements to move everyone with time, besides I won’t make anyone leave. They are free to do as they please like you and I, if they want a better life then they are free to come with me. Of course that means they are meant to keep out of trouble.”

Huntara smirked, this kid was too confident for her own good. “What will you do with ten criminals that want to take everything you have and leave you to die? You can’t face them off yourself.”

“You are thinking all this through the wrong lenses.” Huntara raised an eyebrow.

“I am taking my chance, but then you would have to take your chance with me too.” Point one. “Most importantly I can guarantee a meal, a place to sleep, a safe heaven for the pawns. For the rejects, because that is what everyone here is in the end.”

“That won’t guarantee safety kid.”

“You’re right, but it will guarantee trust.” This was it, Huntara tilted her head.

“Trust? And what good it will make if it’s broken?”

“Have a little faith Huntara. I’m a reject, a renegade, a lowlife all by myself. If I can have faith in their own abilities, in the fact that we could do better and leave a more fulfilling life then perhaps you should too.” She pauses and walked to the bar taking a sip of the canteen.

“I’m willing to give everyone here the one thing life and the Horde and the royals aren’t willing to, a chance. Take it or leave it, I’m going to find my way out wether you come or not.”

She stood up and walked to the door.

“Wait!” When ir came to strategy nobody could beat her. Game.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think, it wasn’t the usual way Catra would deal with things but it was the smart one!


	11. Welcome to the rejects

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta reaches the rejects camp.

When the truck came back it bared bad news, or not so good news. Catra hadn’t let them know she was coming back, which meant something had gone wrong. What exactly they were about to find out.

Lonnie and Scorpia stood before it as the vehicle stopped, the door opened and purple hair was the first thing out.

“Entrapta! Oh your safe!” Scorpia scoop up the princess, no one else came out. “Where’s Catra?”

“Was that your friend?” Entrapta wasn’t chipper like she would usually be, that was unnerving.

“Yes, she was supposed to bring you here.” Entrapta looked down as if she was assessing her options, which was weird considering she usually gave information rather freely. “What happened?”

“We we’re getting out and the Shadow woman almost saw us so Scorpia’s friend told me to get out of there.” By the frown on the girl next to Scorpia it might have been a bad answer. “I just... I just followed the orders she gave me.”

It was barely a whisper and almost came as a stutter and Scorpia started to worried. As if Lonnie had realize Entrapta was reacting to her the expression on her face relaxed.

“That is okay, you did just like she told you. Catra’s smart she wouldn’t have let you escape alone if it wasn’t the only option, my name is Lonnie.” The girl smiled at her and offered her hand, Entrapta looked unsure. “It’s fine if you don’t want to shake it.”

That was a relief, she didn’t really want physical contact with someone she didn’t know. Scorpia was a long time friend and it no longer bother Entrapta, her hugs were comforting, it would have spook her way more if she hadn’t tried.

“I’m told you enjoy technology and solving problems.” Lonnie changed the way of the conversation, Entrapta smiled for the first time since she got there.

“Yes I find knowledge fascinating, it is the best way to understand everything.”

“That’s cool, we don’t have much you could tinker with. If I’m honest we barely had things we get from the woods, so no real technology but if you could help us with anything that would be awesome.”

Entrapta looked unsure, “is that an order?” She was scared.

“No.” Lonnie’s tone was firm, “here you aren’t order to do anything you don’t want to, we need you to help with something because we are few people so every pair of hands counts. We will never force you to do anything you don’t want to Entrapta.”

“Okay...”

“I’m sure you are hungry I bet I can convince Kyle to get you at least tiny food, I don’t believe we could make fuzzy drinks though.” Scorpia said with a smile as she walked them to a big table, Entrapta wondered why it was in the middle of a big tent.

“Everyone here eats as a group, we were about to eat lunch. You can let me know your answer later but for now you should stick to Scorpia or me so that you don’t get lost.” Lonnie was nice, so far. She had smiled and respected Entrapta’s not wanting to touch, she hadn’t forced her to do anything.

“What is going to happen with Scorpia’s friend?” That was the million dollar, question wasn’t it? But Lonnie knew the answer, Catra had been clear before. It was a suicide mission and if she had to stay then she was to be left behind.

Right now they couldn’t afford another trip to the Fright Zone. Not with them settling and building, not with the new clothing and trading they had begun to plan. The risk had been clear and the order firm, if Catra ever came back it would have to be all by herself; or without their help.

“You said Shadow Weaver caught her?” Entrapta nodded. “Then she’ll be probably punished and if we are lucky sent away somewhere to die. She is the craftiest person I know, Catra would find a way to come back. Right now the only thing we can do is continue settling and hoping for the best.”

It wasn’t comforting, but their lives had never been. Catra knew that and had prepared the group for the worst outcome which with Entrapta here wasn’t, though their leaders lost was a big hit.

* * *

“I need you to swear it Lonnie.” Catra said softly, they were the only two left awake.

“Why? We could get you out eventually. Perhaps with more people, you’ve made sure we are organize.” A weak plead at best, but that was all Lonnie had left after trying to persuade the stubborn girl.

“Because...” They looked at the moons, were their lives forever going to be a tragedy, what a joke. “You can organize things just fine, now you have even more people and with the ones that get out of the Horde you should all do fine. I’ve haven’t done anything outstanding, anything someone else couldn’t do.”

“I get you don’t want anyone else to suffer, but is it worth it? We could wait and send you with someone else trained.” There had to be an alternative, a way to avoid the possibility of more damage.

“You and I know that isn’t possible, I haven’t talked ever to Entrapta. However, if I go by what Scorpia told me the girl isn’t meant to be on either side of the war. She is supposedly a genius but a peculiar one, I’m not sure exactly how but she is different. The Horde squashes anything different.”

“They didn’t with Adora.” And there it was right, the source of the issue. Adora was a prodigy, someone that with the proper training would end up being a super soldier of sorts.

“They didn’t?” Catra looked directly at Lonnies eyes, “are you sure about that? Because she isn’t here nor with the Horde, perhaps she simply escaped on time.”

“Still, I bet Entrapta could muster a couple of days, maybe a week.” Catra’s eyes darkened.

“She won’t. We aren’t talking with someone raised in the Horde, we are talking someone with a better childhood. Most likely an abuse free one, she won’t be able to escape the claws of Shadow Weaver if time passes. The best bet is getting her out as soon as possible to minimize the damage, because she has already been hurt.”

“You can’t know that.” Lonnie reached for her shoulder before Catra could leave the conversation. “You can’t know that.”

“But I can Lonnie, if there is anyone that can say they know Shadow Weaver that’s me. I know you think you understand to what extent they are willing to go to get what they want, but I’m telling you honestly that you don’t.” That was a bit much, they had all been mistreated by the Horde.

“That’s just bullshit, you weren’t the only one that suffered back there. Don’t think you were special in that regard!” Because it was true, they had all been punished, repeatedly.

“I don’t consider myself special Lonnie, I wasn’t and I still am not. Let me ask you this, what was the worst they punished you with? No food? A hit with the baton? A couple of shocks?”

“You are making sound that like it is nothing.” It wasn’t nothing, it was awful. It was a crime to do that to fucking children. “The worst I saw was a beating. A dislocated shoulder, and bruised ribs. It wasn’t something small.”

“No it isn’t, but that is not the worst. That to me is very mild.” Lonnie looked shocked by the revelation, there was no way that was mild. It was way more than that, if that was mild what was serious?

“There is no way it was worse.”

“There is more ways to punish someone than physically Lonnie, the worst type of punishment isn’t physical is psychological. Because it leaves scars you can’t see, besides that beating you are describing sounded like a Thursday to me. You would’ve been surprised with how many times I went to training with something broken, my fur is great at hiding scars.”

Lonnie shivered at the thought, there were still a lot of physical punishments that could be worse. She hadn’t considered mind tricks, why was that? Shadow Weaver was a master manipulator after all, she could get into your mind with her magic.

“Don’t dwell on it Lonnie, nothing will come from that. You need to make sure they all are safe, keep expanding and making sure everyone is productive and eats. Don’t go, not now or ever back for me; if it comes to the worst outcome I’ll figure something out, but under no circumstances you will go back for me.”

Catra made sure Loonie was looking directly at her, putting her hand on Lonnie’s shoulder. Perhaps an attempt to give some comfort, as if this was more difficult for her than for Catra.

“Swear it, or promise or say it in a way I can live or die without worrying you’ll be stupid.”

“I swear it.” A small smile, tiny, if Lonnie hadn’t known Catra all her life she would’ve probably mistaken it for a tick.

“Good, now go sleep I’ll check the perimeter and prepare for tomorrow.” Lonnie nodded with a heavy sight, “don’t look too gloom Lonnie, they will start thinking you’re becoming me.”

* * *

“Are you really going to leave her behind?” Scorpia asked that night as she and Lonnie checked the perimeter.

Entrapta’s spirit seemed a little better as she disassembled one of the trucks to repurpose it’s parts. The girl was surely a genius, she was making something for them to comunícate from long distances, just audio.

“We can’t go for her, Catra knew the risks and disregarded our advise.” Lonnie said bitterly, she was angry not at Catra but herself.

“You can’t be serious! We need to make sure she’s okay, if you aren’t going then I’ll get her back.” Scorpia’s loyalty was both her greatest strength and weakness.

“You can’t.” Lonnie mumbled looking down.

“I sure can and I will, even if I have to go alone.” Scorpia turned around and was about to walk away when Loonie reaches for her.

“You can’t because Catra made me swear non of us would go after her if it came to this.” Scorpia’s fighting spirit seemed to leave her for a second.

“I don’t care, she is my friend and I will make sure she comes back.” Lonnie sighed, this is how it was going to be.

“The be her friend and respect what could very well be her last wish. Entrapta was being sent to Beast Island, who do you think will be her replacement?” Scorpia’s eyes watered, why had she let her go? Why didn’t she accompany her?

“It’s not you fault Scorp, none of what happened is your fault. We can still hope that she might come back in the future, she already made it out once.”

“Yeah she could, I mean it hasn’t been that long? Catra would be pissed to know that we haven’t made progress without her, it would annoy her so much.” Scorpia said with a pained chuckle.

“That’s the spirit.” Lonnie said go in the woman a side hug. “I think we are good for tonight, let’s get back and rest we still have a lot of work to do.”

They walked back silently, both minds wondering about the future and the possibilities it held. Both carrying their own guilt.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is much more specific but I think it was a needed scene. We’ll get back to Catra on the next chapter though.


	12. Stay or leave I don’t care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra meets with her last obstacle to get out of the Crimson Waste.

“You don’t really understand how things work here, I’m not the only one that has power. We respect the strong and don’t trust anyone.” Huntara said to Catra as they walked around the Waste.

“I know how that goes, ex-Horde soldier remember? I wasn’t aloud to trust anyone, everyone in the end stabbed my back.” _Even Adora._ “I could use the extra hands, but if it can’t be then I won’t beg for them. People should be free to do as they please as long as they don’t hurt others.”

“I get it kid, honestly I do. I’m tired of this pointless war too, but even here the people have to fight to survive. Tongue Lasher isn’t going to let anyone leave freely if he can stop it.”

Catra cackled at the name. “That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.” She stopped to catch her breath. “If I can win against this Tongue Lasher dude it would mean they would do as I say?”

“Yeah, here the rule is survival of the fittest. If you have more power then people will follow you for protection.” It was simple, those who couldn’t really protect themselves just followed anyone willing to do it. Going as far to make whatever they were told.

“Okay so take me to him I’ll beat his ass and then we can talk about moving people around.”

“You can’t underestimate Tongue Lasher kid, I don’t know if you’d be able to take him out. It is pretty even between him and I, and to be honest I don’t think you’d be able to take me down if you wanted.”

“You haven’t seen me fight, besides I’ve dealt with worse. What you are telling me is that he is an oversized bully, nothing more than muscle. Most battles are won with one move, the correct one.”

“This isn’t a battle that will let you think.” Huntara said seriously, the girl was confident way too confident, and she wonder why that was. How could someone think fighting against someone three times their size would be easy?

“I’ll manage, if I win over him would you be interested in my proposal or you want to stay here and live from scraps for the rest of your days?” Catra was tired to dance around the actual issue, she needed an answer. This Tongue Lasher dude would be easy if it was anything like Huntara, she just needed an open space.

“How will you manage to protect them for the war? From their pasts? Why should I do anything for you?” Ah here we go again.

“You don’t have to do anything. I will not force anyone to leave, I’m giving a fucking option don’t make it sound like I have a gun to you head. I don’t do threats, not anymore.” It was the truth, she wasn’t about to beg for anyone to follow her. However, she was willing to extend a hand and give the option to them. Some had grown into this, it wasn’t their fault they were forgotten.

“Let’s make a deal,” Catra stopped and looked directly at Huntara. She wasn’t about to be intimidated by the older woman. “If you beat Tongue Lasher and give free option to his people then I’ll do the same with mine, eventually following you.”

“Okay.” And it was simple as most things were in the Crimson Waste, there wasn’t more fighting needed. Not between the two of them, this Tongue Lasher dude was going to lose. She hated people who abused their power, especially when it came to doing it against the people that were supposedly on their side.

* * *

Lonnie was impressed, Entrapta surely was a genius. She had made a couple of turrets and they had been placed around the settlement, while Lonnie or Scorpia still walked the perimeter it was very unlikely someone would be able to go through.

The communication devices also were a success, the girl was slowly but surely getting in touch with the group. Most of the time she followed Scorpia around which meant she was talked to even briefly by everyone. For someone so big Scorpia was such a likable character it was astonishing.

They had gotten the new clothes and everyone seemed much more comfortable now, it was as if the surety clothes had been discarded with their different pasts. Alexander was the most proficient in terms of hunting but they weren’t relying on it that much preferring to capture and raising the animals on the long run.

Rogelio and Kyle had officially become a thing, it wasn’t talked about or acknowledged by them but the couple help hands, kissed and lived together. Dedril had become very useful in terms of making sure everyone was safe, the girl had a strong sense of protection for everyone and that made Lonnie’s job easier.

Selena and Kynz had become craftspeople, their respective works were getting better and the old ones were upgraded with time. Things were looking good with them, Selena was much less sass than at the beginning.

The twins had worked hand in had on the new fields, they had moved from the kitchen (now they actually had a kitchen it had taken two whole days) and were tending to the crops.

Aidan, Lank and surprisingly Sybell has helped Scorpia around with more buildings. The girl hadn’t originally been fond of the heavy work that came with that, it could be that she was curious about the genius that always followed Scorpia.

At this point they had made incredible progress, if they could get more hands they could expand. The trainings on the afternoons had been a constant, the teens had made a lot of progress. Aidan being one of the best, he would’ve been a fine soldier. Lonnie frowned at the thought, she sighed looking down at the plans for another trade travel.

“I guess our past doesn’t leave us completely ever.” Then again they all knew the road to healing was long and painful as their respective lives.

* * *

Of course Tongue Lasher has agreed to fight, in front of everyone including Huntara. How full of himself was he? People always underestimated her, but that was good.

“As you know here the stro-”

“Yeah, yeah, the strong make the rules...” Catra said bored and unbothered by his angry glare. “Can we fight or do you need more time trying to intimidate me with your weak speech.”

That got a rise from him, just like Catra thought. Why did every strong person had a soft spot for being called weak? Weren’t they aware of their strength or were they simply offended to be deemed something they were not?

She hadn’t predicted the whip, but it wouldn’t be a problem really. Catra evaded his attacks, with ease, he was slow. Playing with Lasher for a bit to get him angrier.

It was a double edge kind of strategy, it could become a problem fast if not handled carefully. Then again, when hadn’t Catra fought carefully; she wasn’t about to get pounded by this asshole.

She felt the whip wrapping around her ankle. Well this was fun, but things needed to end; she had already taken too much time. He hanged her upside down, mocking her.

“What are you gonna do now? Did the mouse got your Tongue?” Oh my god was that a weak dad joke. Catra laughed humorless, she threw some sand at his face and as he cried trying to eat it out of his eyes she kicked him back. The quicksand behind him pulling him down.

“Help! Someone get me out of here!” The irony wasn’t lost on Catra, letting him drown there wouldn’t look good though. She sighed.

“Come on.” Catra extended her hand for him to wrap the whip around, he did with a relieved face. “Huntara help me dragging him out.”

The woman obliged and they let him catch his breath. It would be seen as weak to fight now, he had been not only defeated by this girl but also saved. How embarrassing.

“I get your ego is bruised but I stand by what I said before. If you want to leave you can follow me, however, I won’t be this lenient if you cause problems back in the settlement.” He was shocked, Catra had made the offer before they started fighting and he had dismissed it thinking there was no way he was losing to the kid.

Catra turned around and addressed the rest of the people watching. “As you can see the idea that the strongest should lead and only them should survive is faulty, you can come with me and have a place to sleep and work peacefully away from the war. You could be useful without needing to destroy or harm others, but you can choose to stay here. I’m not about to beg nor order anyone to come.”

She turned and pointed to Huntara and Tongue Lasher. “Huntara has agreed to help and I’m sure Lasher here could give us a hand since I don’t think everyone could move at once. You can take whatever you have or need and we’ll start moving tomorrow, the two of them will stay until we have moved everyone that wants to leave. They will make sure you stay safe.”

That hasn’t been part of the deal and Catra could see the displeased face in both, nevertheless neither complained. “I’m told Kurey is the best one to lead me back to the woods so I’ll only ask her to accompany me, I’ll provide payment if she doesn’t wish to take my offer if she does the we’ll figure something out when we get to the settlement. Any questions?”

A single hand, a lanky boy. Catra was reminded of Kyle. “Why are you doing this?”

“Does it matter?” She asked back looking at him, “look you have to trust me in order for this to work, if only at the begging. You can always make up your mind later on and leave or simply stay here, I don’t care.”

Catra turned around and started walking. “However, as a fellow reject I would advise you to take the chance. The worst that could happen it that you come back here but the best is that you get a home maybe for the first time ever.” She never stopped as she walked away.

Kurey met her later that day and Catra made arrangements with both Huntara and Tongue Lasher, she was betting that most people would like to leave if so then they would be able to make so much more. Catra hoped that Entrapta had made it back safely, the last thing they needed was a new mission back to the Fight Zone.

* * *

The travel back took two days, they decided to move out in groups of 20-30 people. The first one however was only composed of 10, five of which would return to report about how it was living on the settlement. It would probably boost morale and help the indecisive make a decision.

Kurey was indeed a very skillful as both a scout and a tracker, Catra made sure to watch out for anything she could learn. She had asked her to stay with the group back while she entered the settlement not wanting to startle someone and start a fight.

She walked quietly through the forest and avoided what she assumed was a new defense system, Entrapta had made it out. There was no way they would’ve been able to pull this so fast if she hadn’t.

“Catra.” Lonnie said with wide eyes when she walked in. “You’re back.”

“I told you I would make it out, but I bare some news.” The beginning playful and the end serious.

“Good or bad?”

“Right now neither, we’ll be expanding. A lot probably.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter gone and now we have a much more threatening group of people, how are they going to live together?


	13. Slow and steady

Catra had talked to Lonnie and got Entrapta to let the defenses down. Her travel companions made it in and Catra was glad that in the settlement they had decided to make more houses than necessary. It would mean the Crimson Waste folk would be able to sleep soundly at least in two separate ones.

As many of the things that were done here they didn’t talk about Catra’s time back in the Fright Zone nor how she escaped again. The teens they had sheltered before, now completely mixed with the ex-Horde soldiers got the drill, they didn’t pry.

The new arrivals were gathered and fed properly before Lonnie and Catra assessed their respective skills, the tracker was the easiest one. There was a cook, a couple that could teach self defense, some willing to work building and others with the crops. They didn’t have a tech person to talk with Entrapta, but in the meantime it was probably for the best.

While most people in the Horde were taught to hide their emotions Scorpia was never one able to do it, which was both good and bad. Back there it had been seen as a sign of weakness, but that made her approachable for everyone. In the end people that wanted any kind of comfort went to her, Catra wondered if she was who Scorpia went for comfort.

She was sorry if that was the case, not being able to do anything beyond giving an ear, some advise (sometimes good sometimes bad) or a pat on the back. Perhaps that was enough for the girl with the massive heart.

Given all that Catra could read perfectly the concern on her face, it would come around after they talked back in her old Force Captain room and it came now when she looked at Entrapta. Catra wasn’t sure how to deal with that, the tech girl had suffered but nobody knew to what extent; she wasn’t sure Entrapta wanted them to know.

“You should stop from time to time.” Ah there she was, Lonnie forever the voice of reason. They had gotten closer, as of now they were sharing a house. Scorpia had offered to let her stay in hers but Entrapta’s look told her it wasn’t a possibility. The girl was scared of those she didn’t know, it was okay.

“There’s no rest for the wicked.” Catra said without looking up from the blueprints she had on the table.

“You should sleep, you just came back from checking the perimeter.” It was already late when she had gone. However, nobody said a thing; it was a given when they saw her walk away from the camp. Lonnie had been left to answer the question of some of their newest settlers.

“We both know sleep isn’t that big of a deal, I don’t really enjoy the process of being rudely awaken.” That’s as far of an admission of being troubled anyone would get from Catra.

“I could ask Dedril to make you some tea or something else to help.”

“Thanks but I’d prefer not to.” Lonnie was the one that got the most polite responses from her, while it didn’t happen always it was progress. That of course setting aside Scorpia and by default Entrapta.

“You’ll burnout at this rate and I’ll have to deal with everyone being worried,” it barely got an acknowledgement sound. “Fine, you stubborn cat. Get at least some kind of sleep, we need to talk with Entrapta for the expansion plans.”

Yes, it was unavoidable. Entrapta was making their defenses and with more people that would have to improve, they needed to start getting her some proper tools. Perhaps she had some stacked somewhere in Etheria where they could get them.

Catra got a couple of hours of sleep just like she always had, only a couple. Her body was familiar with the exhaustion, with the pain, it wasn’t a bother. Catra was aware it should be, by the looks on everyone’s faces when she dismissed pain quickly and then got herself annoyed until she visited Dedril.

The girl hadn’t hold her tongue and said that she was the worst patient ever. Never one to be fond of treatment and one to despise anything that could diminish the pain, often times Scorpia had to guilt trip her into taking the medication.

* * *

“Hey Entrapta.” Catra had gone to the house the girl shared with Scorpia, it would be better to approach her there. Catra’s voice soft as to not scare the her.

“Hello.” Her interactions with the genius were different from the rest, Entrapta seemed to trust her way more than the rest of them. Probably because she was close to Scorpia, maybe for being the one that got her out of the Fright Zone.

“I need to talk to you about the defenses you’ve made.” Entrapta looked nervous as if she was scared something bad would happen. “It’s just that we will get more people and that means more area. We need to move them around and make sure they don’t attack the newcomers.”

“That makes sense. I can get something for the turrets to sense and disarm, like a key of sorts. Where do you want to move the defenses?” Entrapta fidgeted with a small screw on her hand.

“I was hoping you’d had a suggestion, you’re the one that built them so you’d be able to tell where they would be better placed.” Entrapta nodded, she looked down and her eyes moved around like she was thinking.

“Could I get something with the building plans?” It was unsure always unsure, and Catra’s mind wonder to Shadow Weaver. By her talks with Scorpia, Entrapta had always been lively and easy going. Not to careful with what she did, that probably got her in trouble back in the Fright Zone.

“Sure, I'll ask Lonnie to get you something.” Entrapta nodded, the screw on her hand dropping. Catra took it, it didn’t have anything special.

“Here,” The tech genius seemed surprised by the gesture. “I have something else to ask you.”

“Okay.”

“Do you have tools stacked somewhere? We could get them here and you could work with them. If you don’t you can always make a list and we’ll try to get them by trading.” Entrapta’s eyes sparkled at the suggestion.

“I have a lab back at Drill! If I can get there I’m sure I can get it to move completely, oh I could do so much more with it. I can continue my research on First One’s Tech! I c-.” Catra was smiling at her, it was a rare thing, Entrapta was aware of that. But from the information that she had gathered it was extremely good.

“I’m sorry I got excited...” The smile banished and Entrapta got nervous, had she done something wrong? Where they going to throw her away?

“Don’t apologize, you did nothing wrong. I don’t know what Shadow Weaver did to you back there, I assume it was awful. Here you are safe, as long as you have me and Scorpia and Lonnie and the rest you will be.” Verbal reassurance was something Catra had seen from Scorpia, it was something she used a lot with Entrapta. Catra knew better than to ask why.

“Are you sure? I’m kind of useless for people.” That was a lie. A lie said with so much conviction that Catra didn’t doubt it came from Shadow Weaver.

“Actually you’ve been extremely helpful, whoever told you that just isn’t smart. Who cares if you are different, if you look around we all are. I was deemed useless by more than one person, would you say I’m useless?” Entrapta’s eyes widen as if that last sentence was preposterous.

“What? No! The data says you are incredibly useful. You brought more people, you made everyone 17% more productive, you make the big decisions so far all right...” she paused and looked at the screw, “you saved me.”

“Bad people have their way with words and use them to hurt others, tell me if someone here could’ve done any of the things you’ve made at the rate you’ve made them.” Catra saw how she could grasp very well logical arguments.

“The data would suggest that isn’t possible, perhaps with more time.” Entrapta looked at her, a small smile. Maybe her way of saying thank you?

“Then you’ve been essential to the growth of this settlement, I’ll get Scorpia to accompany you to Drill if you’d like to get your lab. In the meantime you could make a list of things you want to help you with the tech.” She made sure to emphasize the want, not need, here they would have options and if they could they would get the best tools to Entrapta.

“Do we need to leave immediately?” The tone was unsure once more.

“Do you want to leave right now?” Entrapta was again surprised by the answer, she pondered for a second and looked at Catra.

“No, I like it here and we still need to move the defenses and make the key.” The last part said as a justification, Catra knew they could wait longer for that but if it made Entrapta feel better then she would agree with the reasons.

“Then you don’t have to.” Entrapta smiled, fully. A rare sight without Scorpia.

“Okay... do you need anything else?”

“To tell you a couple of things if you want listen.” She wasn’t going to make the girl listen to her, if she didn’t want to then Catra wouldn’t say anything. Entrapta nodded.

“We appreciate you here, everyone. You are incredibly gifted and useful, but you aren’t in any way obliged to help. If you want to leave you are free to do so, we would miss you and I’m sure Scorpia would keep in touch if you asked her. You aren’t a prisoner and you don’t have to be afraid of people around you. If someone bothers you talk to Scorpia, Lonnie or myself and we’ll deal with it.”

“No one has bother me, they have been nice.” Entrapta frowned, the data suggested that she should trust them.

“Good, if that ever changes then you tell us. I know how it feels to be played by Shadow Weaver, so if you ever want to talk about that then feel free to tell me. We won’t let her get to you.” A paused as Catra walked away, “I won’t let her get to you.”

That Entrapta knew it was a fact, by the talks around Catra would be willing to go back if any of them got captured by the Shadow Woman. “Thanks Grumpy Cat...”

Catra turned around with a smirk. “Anytime tech geek.”

* * *

The report that went to the Crimson Waste was overwhelmingly positive, it surprised many. Catra had been truthful and while they had to help around nothing was ordered, they could choose what they wanted to do.

Huntara was impressed with the kid, why the Horde had let her leave was beyond her. It seemed like she could handle herself just fine, very cunning. Her own task had just began, apparently they had a tech genius which meant that now they had a direct way of communication with the settlement.

The work done for the next couple of weeks was simply moving people, many decided to travel with whatever broken machines they owned in hopes they could get it repaired.

While traveling they had encountered some abandoned villages, they took whatever they could find useful.

Catra made it clear to them that if someone asked for help, or for a place to stay they were to offer the settlement as an option. It came to be that the usual 20 people group ended up with a couple of more every arrival.

The fact that many of the Crimson Waste folk were strong had helped with the need for making more buildings. A couple of Horde soldiers had also made their way to their now village, they needed a name.

Catra was adamant on it being a safe heaven, not a place where fighting the war was allowed and with that came the necessity of punishment when things got out of hand.

Needless to say nobody would’ve guess what the punishments would entail and if asked before hand they wouldn’t have guessed correctly. It usually was being kind of put on time out, but not really.

Scorpia was in charge of handling the trouble makers, most of the time she would talk to them and tried to get them to apologize while having them do some sort of physical work. It was quite successful considering the group they had, it was easier to vent their frustrations when their bodies were to tired for their brain to filter their thoughts.

Kyle had become successful too in putting out fires when it came to morale or someone being bothered. Being helped with a couple of cooking books it was always a delight to be serve a dessert.

Catra wouldn’t admit it but she had made sure to visit periodically Razz, which had herself made sure they could eat pies and desserts every time they wanted by giving out several books. She was aware that Scorpia and Lonnie visited too, as every time she went Razz made a point to ask for them.

But with time and effort, their growth and advancements there was no way they would stay hidden much longer. Catra dreaded that thought, not being sure if it would come from the Horde or the Rebellion.

Not wanting surprises she had made sure everyone there knew who she was now and before. It wasn’t a secret that there were ex-Horde soldiers, orphan children and former criminals. That and simple people who had become helpless with the war.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise when Alexander and Lonnie entered the main building, it was where they manage everything where their discussions where held.

“There’s intruders!”

“They’re here.”


	14. First encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world at war peace is a foolish wish at best, right?

“They’re here.”

They... who was they? It had to be the war, Catra wondered if she’d have to use force or words; the former if it came to the Horde and the latter if it was the Rebellion. She wouldn’t let them take over. Without a word she followed Lonnie and Alexander.

“Oh Catra, I was hoping you’d get here fast.” Scorpia was worried, “they are trying to make Entrapta leave with them.”

“She can if she wants to, if not she can stay and they aren’t allowed to take her by force.” Catra had been clear with the genius, but from the looks around whoever had come wanted to take her away without considering her decision.

“Entrapta you escaped! We are so happy, you can come back and be safe nothing will happen.” A princess, Sparkles. Catra didn’t bother to remember her name.

“Data would show you are not correct.” Catra snorted, it was a great response and she wasn’t sure Entrapta could grasp the amount of sass it carried.

“Hey! Leave her alone.” She said as it seemed that Adora’s new friends had Entrapta surrounded, she could see her fidgeting with the screw. With an opening because of her distraction Entrapta moved fast behind her, as if looking for protection. Scorpia stood next to Catra.

“The Horde, why am I not surprised? Did you brain wash her!?” What an accusation from an ignorant fool, but what did she expect from someone forever pampered.

“Look Sparkles, this isn’t the Horde nor the Rebellion’s territory. This is a place free of the war, if you want to come and rest be my guest but if you just want to bring trouble then leave or I’ll make you leave.” Her voice calm and steady, she wasn’t about to be intimidated by Sparkles.

“There is no way you aren’t with the Horde! They had captured Entrapta!” That struck a chord, they knew Entrapta had been captured? They didn’t bother to go back for her! If that is how they treated their allies there wasn’t anyway she was letting them take Entrapta once more.

“Yes I’m aware. I went back and took her out myself as per request from Scorpia. Stop making a scene and calm yourself or leave, now.” Her voice cold and void of feeling. Sparkles didn’t have power here, she couldn’t boss people around flaunting her royal status.

“You can’t make us leave these territories belong to Brightmoon.” Wrong words.

“These lands were never part of Brightmoon, get your history straight. They belonged to Halfmoon, or have you forgotten them already? I wouldn’t be surprised. Since the kingdom is no longer here the land belongs to whoever lives there. We live here, therefore is ours. If you try to take it then we will retaliate accordingly, I’ll warn you though we don’t want war we are getting out of your stupid conflict.”

Halfmoon was an ancient kingdom, forgotten by many with the passage of time. When the war had began they had mysteriously disappeared though it was believed the Horde had whipped it out.

“You can’t hide forever.” That sounded dangerously like a threat but Catra’s words weren’t dismissed. She was right.

“I will die before I let this place be consumed by your desires to rage war.” There was no point in fighting, not with Sparkles who looked for the glory gained in battle. How naive she was, perhaps it was a consequence of being raised like a royal.

“We have no choice the Horde-” Catra stopped her.

“The Horde could’ve been defeated long ago with the right strategies, but you lack someone with a brain. If they ever come here and threaten our life then I will make sure they crumble, same as you Sparkles. We aren’t friends of them nor of you.”

Catra needed to make sure that stuck out, they weren’t allies by any means. The idea the enemy of my enemy is my friend didn’t apply to them.

“We could help each other out.” A try for diplomacy, the boy had always been the most patient one. The one open to new ideas as long as they weren’t completely delusional.

“Sorry Arrow Boy, as you can see we are doing just fine. You didn’t help before and I don’t trust you to stay and help now.” She motioned to the village behind her, they had thrived despite their differences. They had manage peace between misfits and regular folk, they were living instead of surviving. Catra wasn’t about to let that change.

“Where’s Adora? She is usually with both of you running around trying to win this with her fists.” Catra wasn’t going to call her She-Ra if she could avoid it, that wasn’t someone she knew.

“She-Ra is training. She needs to master her magical abilities, it is what give us an advantage against the Horde.” Sparkles had a big mouth and Catra could probably get more information, however, she was tired.

“Okay, you can stay if you want. I’m sure we can find somewhere for you to sleep, but I’m warning you not to start trouble because unlike everyone else that has come here you aren’t in need of refuge which is what this place is about.” Sparkles looked at her with indignation, as if Catra had insulted her.

“We won’t, thanks for your hospitality.” Arrow Boy always sensible, maybe he had enough brain cells to think about an actual plan against the Horde. Catra wasn’t going to dwell on that.

She walked to Lonnie, “make sure they stay somewhere with the most calm of us, I wouldn’t want Lasher or some ex-Horde soldiers to snap at them.” As if remembering something else she turned and her demeanor changed, her gaze dangerous.

“Don’t bother Entrapta, she can leave anytime she wants if it’s her OWN decision. If you coerce her into doing something she doesn’t want you’ll have to leave immediately and won’t be allowed to come back. She has made too much progress for you to take her back.”

Arrow Boy seemed hurt and Sparkles guilty, good. They weren’t going to get pity from her nor anyone else here, they had their own issues to resolve. Catra walked back to the planing building, she needed a name for it, and continue solving problems. That’s all she did now apparently.

There were things that didn’t change, the training in the afternoon. She was a teacher with Lonnie, often gaining the most students. They had made more sessions with different teachers throughout the day, everyone received self defense classes. Kids, teens and adults; the elderly were there to keep score in the practice fights and to keep up the young ones spirits.

The patrol at night and early in the morning stayed too, she usually was alone but people were allowed to join her. It had become an unspoken rule that it was to be done silently, as to recollect their thoughts and the ones that accompanied her sharpened their senses. Alexander and Lonnie were her most consistent companions.

After her morning patrol she would walk around the crops and the animals they were raising, now having a variety and able to get things like milk and cheese done. People would greet her and ask what she would help with that day, she moved around and did a little of everything.

The meals were eaten collectively, they needed now three buildings for everyone to do it. They were open, it was more of an out door cafeteria. Entrapta had created something like waterproof contains so they could still use them when it rained, Kyle was the head chef but they now had more than one person that knew how to cook.

A lot of her time was spent on the planning building, Lonnie worked with her. They would settle arguments and work on expansions if needed. The new arrivals always taken there and after a meal and a day or two of rest if needed they would ask what they could and wanted to do, many diverged from what they knew and tried new things.

People didn’t seem accustomed to being able to learn to do something different later in life, some farmers had become craftsman and some soldiers had become farmers. Entrapta had a group of people interested in tech that followed her around, always careful with their interactions. The genius loved to share her knowledge and had been a surprisingly good teacher for those willing to listen.

The big catch was that of every group the most difficult one to stay in was Entrapta’s. She had a special place in the village and was clearly protected by Catra, Scorpia and Lonnie; meaning she was untouchable and you could never harm her.

Most of the time people couldn’t keep up and left to do something else, but the ones that stayed made their technological progress peak. Catra wasn’t sure half the time what they were working on, simply going to the lab and asking if they needed materials or tools. That or when there was an issue with something they had made before, Entrapta was quick to solve it.

Many rotated through different tasks, Rogelio had been one of those. It was good because it meant Catra had usually someone reliable to tell her if there was something strange going on. Their village was to wondering eyes a surprising success. After all how could a group of ex-Horde soldiers, orphaned teens and former mercenaries be able to achieve so much?

Catra didn’t care about those opinions, right now the biggest problem was that they were found. No longer protected by the ignorance of both the Rebellion and the Horde, things would get complicated.

* * *

Sparkles and Arrow Boy stayed only one night, leaving after begrudgingly and politely saying goodbye respectively. Catra called her original squad, Huntara, Entrapta, Dedril and Alexander into a meeting right after they were out of sight.

“I’m guessing you are wondering why I called you all here?” There were a couple of nods.

“I assume it has to do with the impromptu visit of the princess.”

“Lonnie is correct, up until now we manage to stay under the radar of the war. However, that is no longer a possibility.”

“What are we going to do about it, people don’t want to fight here; we were supposed to stay away from the problem.”

“And we will Huntara, don’t get worked up over that. While we are going to avoid the war at all costs, we aren’t going to ignore the possibility of an attack from either side. We most be prepared to retaliate if necessary, and if it comes to actually waging a war; which is the last thing anyone here wants, I’ll make sure it ends as fast as possible.”

“What do you propose? We do have highly trained people, ones that can actually be soldiers if it came to that.” Alexander being one of them himself, most young ones liked the training and usually excelled.

“I want to avoid sending actual soldiers if possible, which leads me to Entrapta.” Everyone turned to her, she started fidgeting with the screw. “Is there a possibility you could make assault robots? Ones that could charge to battle and not get destroyed in ten seconds?”

“It would take some time... I do believe I could make them, however most of our research has been into making the standard of life better so we might be a little rusty on that side.” Catra nodded it wasn’t a no, she would take it.

“We will make a defense unit. The perimeter should be patrolled at all times, they will be all highly trained people. I’m not letting others get hurt because of their own inexperience.” Catra turned to Huntara.

“You have been keeping track of that, I’m sure you’d be able to get a group and start as soon as possible. I don’t want to alarm anyone but things will be announced after dinner, make sure the younger kids are away.” They didn’t need to be brought into this conflict, they were supposed to grow up and be happy. The adults would protect them.

“Will you wing the speech?” Lonnie probably wanted a clear version of what would be said, it made for less arguing and possible misunderstandings.

“We’ll make a bullet point list of the things that need to be said but people need to know I’m being truthful and that only leaves a no prepared speech option.” While many trusted them fully Catra wasn’t about to take chances.

“Apart from everything already said is there anything else?” Dedril asked.

“Yes, you have been in charge of the healers and medics throughout this, I need a list of what they can and can’t do. We need to be able to send at least one of them if soldiers have to be deployed, which means you need to make sure they all are training with the rest.” The healers were usually given the option to avoid combat training, many of them being apathetic to the idea of hurting others.

“They won’t like that.”

“I know, any and all complaints are to be brought directly to me and I’ll set the record straight. We won’t force anyone to do something they don’t want to, but we will make sure they all know what we could lose if people don’t help.”

“It sounds like you are preparing for war kid.” Huntara’s voice pained.

“I must be prepared for the worst outcome, so you are correct. I will prepare for war but will only go as a last resort. I do stand by my words and if it’s possible I won’t send one soldier out, and the first one in battle will be myself.”

Unlike both war front leaders she wasn’t going to coward away in her fortress, if only one soldier had to go out and fight she would go personally.

“Sometimes I forget you are still a kid. Most of you.” Huntara was by far the oldest in their group.

“We haven’t been kids for a long time Huntara, we don’t have that luxury. Nevertheless we want to give that privilege to other kids.” With that the meeting ended, no words left to say.

* * *


	15. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One can never be too careful.

“Do you think we’ll have to fight?” Scorpia asked, earlier that day she had invited Catra to stay the night at her house.

“I don’t know for sure, but it looks like a a solid possibility. We know that the Horde isn’t about to make peace with us or anyone else, the Rebellion might want to.” They were sitting down in the living room, Scorpia had made tea for her and Entrapta had stayed.

“You seem rather pessimistic in your rationalizations. May I ask why?” At this point those kind of questions coming from Entrapta didn’t surprise Catra. She actually liked to answer her questions, many times they could lead to something bigger.

“If you prepare for the worst and then it happens you’ll be okay, if it doesn’t you are still okay. I’m not willing to gamble our people’s lives.” Entrapta nodded and looked down fidgeting with the screw. Catra had told her to paint it if she wanted so that it could be found easily if it was ever lost, to her surprise Entrapta used blue and yellow.

“Is there something else troubling you Tech Geek?” The girl was fond of the nickname and Catra used it when they were alone or with Scorpia not wanting to make her uncomfortable. They had made so much progress and Scorpia’s own worry diminished with each day that passed.

“Do you believe we could win a war with either or both of them?”

“As allies or enemies?” The clarification needed. Catra wasn’t about to consider either allies, not if she could avoid it. However, they were still a community and it couldn’t be all up to her; there would be a point when the people would want something different than her and she would have to compromise.

“Enemies.” That was easier.

“I believe we would be a force to be reckoned with, however, it would be foolish of me to predict an outcome. People do it and often underestimate their foes, or their allies.” She has seen it with the Horde and the Rebellion, later on she saw it in the Crimson Waste.

“The Shadow Woman doesn’t think the Rebellion could defeat the Horde.” Many times Entrapta thought out loud, she didn’t expect answers but they were welcome.

“She believes she is above everyone in every sense possible. Shadow Weaver is a pain to deal with, I can see her being arrogant enough to think there is no way of her losing. The Horde does have a trained army.”

“Glimmer...” Catra looked confused. “Umm... Sparkles believes that with the Princess Alliance they could have enough power to defeat the Horde.”

“If used properly it is a possibility. Still they lack an actual war general that knows what they’re doing. I believe that Adora if she wasn’t too concerned with her new powers would be a good option. However, when people gain power rapidly they tend to rely solely on that instead of their previous abilities.”

Catra wasn’t about to be arrogant and say that their inherited powers weren’t an advantage, but relying solely on them was stupid. The princesses thought they could fight the war alone and pushed the soldiers, who were trained for that purpose, aside.

“Adora was a very capable cadet back in the Horde, no wonder why she was Shadow Weaver’s prodigy.” Scorpia was right, Adora had many good qualities for a soldier. Nevertheless she wasn’t perfect as the Rebellion or the common Etherians thought.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. While Adora was often given the spotlight because of that witch’s infatuation with her, she wasn’t the only skilled one. You’ve seen how good are Lonnie and Rogelio, even Kyle is better than your average villager.”

Sure they had bothered him back in the Horde because he wasn’t the most skilled. He was still a soldier, a trained one basically from birth as many of them were.

“That wasn’t a standard back there.” Scorpia’s was right, Kyle was one of the lowest ranked cadets in their squad, but what he lack in confidence and coordination he had it in brain power.

“He could hold his ground, a bit clumsy sure but every squad needs someone like him. Either to make us laugh and forget what we are momentarily or to simple be a support.”

“You seem to value everyone despite how you treat them.”

“I know I’m a bit ruff with them Entrapta, but it would be manipulative of me not to treat them as I normally would. It would make me a hypocrite and as bad as Shadow Weaver.” No thing she wasn’t going to do was pretending she was something other than Catra. If people liked it good, if not it was their problem; they could leave.

“You could never be as bad as the Shadow Woman, you are good Grumpy Cat.” Catra wouldn’t admit it ever... she was fond of the nickname, very accurate.

“Thanks, how have things progressed for you? Do you like it here?” This was something she asked around, Entrapta got it more than the rest of them, it was important for people to like being there. What was the point of living here if they were miserable?

“It’s great, I must say that I am not very fond of making attacking robots but I will try my best.” The screw rolling between her fingers. Inside the house Scorpia had manage to get Entrapta to lose the welding mask she used, of course she could put it on at any time, but Scorpia wanted Entrapta to feel comfortable enough there not to use a mask to hide.

“I’m sure you will, but I wasn’t talking about that. How are you doing? With all the stuff that is happening after being captured. You don’t have to tell us anything but remember that we are willing to listen to you.” Reassurance had positive results with the general population of the village, people liked to be reminded that they would be helped if they needed it.

“Wildcat is right, you know you can always come to us.”

“I’ve been better... The idea of war isn’t appealing to me. I didn’t want to join the Rebellion at first but they seemed nice and I thought we could be friends.”

That bothered Catra. Friends. That is how the Rebellion had manage to get Entrapta to join them? She could see that the girl was a genius with tech but not very good with social interactions, which meant that she would probably jump into an opportunity like that as it presented. It was low, on purpose? Probably not, but in the end it was manipulative. It preyed on Entrapta’s insecurities.

“Hey you know we are your friends, right?”

“I like to think so, I’m not really knowledgeable in the friends department.” Welcome to the club, Catra thought.

“That is fine Tech Geek neither am I but somehow I’ve made some.” Catra said with a soft smile, “I like to think that you are my friend too.”

“You are very soft with me, why?” Entrapta asked genuinely, Catra’s demeanor darkened. It was a fact, Catra was very delicate in her handling of Entrapta and her feelings.

“You were in the hands of Shadow Weaver for a long time, you were left by the Rebellion. I can empathize with that, I know how that feels. Also I’ve seen that you respond better to that, and I don’t want you to feel pressured or bad here.”

“Like with the kids?” Catra had been surprisingly good with the younger children. Scorpia later would tell everyone that it was because she used to take care of the youngest cadets back in the Horde, it wasn’t something she publicized.

“Yes, I can change if you want to.” It would mean having much less tact with her.

“No, I’m fine with that. I like it.” Entrapta was quick to reply.

“Okay, then I’ll keep being softer with you. Remember the option of talking to me or Scorpia is always on the table.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” They drank the tea in silence. Catra stood up no longer after and walked to the door after saying her goodbyes.

“Did the Shadow Woman do something to you too?” She stopped, hand still grasping the door.

“Yes, but I’m not good with talking about that.” Catra turned and looked sadly to Entrapta, it wasn’t a look she was familiar with. “It was bad, I survived. Though scars will be there forever.”

Entrapta nodded as she thought about her own time with the woman.

* * *

“What do you mean Entrapta is being held by Catra? Isn’t she with the Horde?” Adora was confused as to why Glimmer had decided to make a distinction.

“Apparently not anymore, I’m sure she has manipulate her into staying.” No matter how many times Bow insisted that it seem like Entrapta liked it there Glimmer didn’t accept it.

“She seems fine, honestly I’m happy she got away from the Fright Zone. Your stories make it seem like it was a nightmare.” Adora had shared a couple of the physical punishments she had received.

“I’m one of the lucky ones, being kind of protected by Shadow Weaver. There were cadets that had it much worse.” Her thoughts drifted to Catra, she wasn’t sure how much the girl had endure during her time in the Horde. Unlike Adora, Catra wasn’t in the good list of anyone besides hers.

“I don’t know how that is supposed to make it better.” For the Rebellion things could only be black and white. Adora thought about Catra, she never would never fit that model of viewing thing. The girl moved around s grayscale, unafraid to get her hands dirty if needed.

“It isn’t, it just was. Now tell me about this village, it wasn’t there before.” Adora said seriously, it had been only an observation.

“They chose a very good spot, far from the war front and it belonged to a kingdom no longer here. It seems big and growing, people are happy.” Bow seemed confused, he didn't see the damage of the new village nor of its inhabitants as long as they didn't spur trouble.

“There has to be something wrong.” Glimmer insisted, her hands turning into tight fists; there were only two sides on the conflict a good and a bad one, the Rebellion being good.

“Why is it so hard for you to believe that they are okay?” It didn't seem farfetched to Adora, considering she herself had switched sides. There was a big portion of people who would probably give everything to simply avoid the war, Catra, apparently was one of them.

“Because they came from the Horde, they are evil. I will prove it." The conversation was frustrating, Glimmer was too set on her own ways. "Right now our biggest problem is the war, if they don’t come and attack then we can focus on the front.”

“Should we avoid them?” It made sense, if they weren't a threat why should the Rebellion bother with the village.

“The Horde doesn’t seem aware of their existence and Catra said they didn’t want any part on the war, let’s see how long that holds.” 

“Catra is very smart Glimmer, don’t dismiss her.” Adora was careful, she remembered how smart the girl actually was. Even though they had set her aside more than once Catra was still the second best on her squad, sometimes Adora wonder if her first position came from being Shadow Weaver's good graces.

“I need to prioritize Adora. I can’t think of the possibility of an attack from her when there are villages actually being attacked right now.” Glimmer was right, they already were having issues with the constant attacks from the Horde. This village seemed peaceful, therefore it didn't make sense to prioritize it.

“Just a thought Glimmer.”

“I’ll keep it in mind.” The answer tired but cold, it didn’t sit well with Adora nor Bow. For once they wished Glimmer wasn't so set in her own ways, Adora thought it was a direct consequence of the princess upbringing. It could be her biggest flaw, the inability to see all and change accordingly; that included seeing the world as a greyscale.

* * *

Catra prepared, she didn't rest. Time is of the essence when dealing with matter of life and death, war was definitely one of those matters.

The talk with the villagers went as good as expected, while most were displeased by the possibility of the war reaching them they appreciated the honest approach. The healers were reluctant but started to train with the rest, it was a fairly amusing sight at the beginning; Dedril stood out from them, the girl had continued the training. Unfortunately for her that meant that she became the unofficial teacher when Catra and Lonnie had other matters to attend.

Scorpia and the builders moved from making houses and storage units to creating defense walls, Entrapta's weapons were placed on top of them and automatized with the option to be overridden by a manual user if the time came. For once the extreme measures that Catra was proposing were met with nods of agreement, that never happened on the Horde, here it was a very different reality.

Entrapta's tech team advance quickly on their creation of new robots, the mission to get her lab from Dril was done without a hitch. It helped that besides having Scorpia accompanying the genius and a couple of her students Huntara prepared a special force for their protection. The first robots were deployed as well.

If either side of the war was aware of their movements they didn't make it known, Catra hoped for them to be oblivious to their preparations. It was always better to have surprise as an advantage, in their case the ignorance of both sides was a blessing.

Catra asked later on if Entrapta could hack the communications of both sides or if they could create something to spy on them, the challenge was met with a smirk and Catra could swear the genius was overjoyed by it. Catra found it funny; Entrapta would be on her shell most of the time, but if you asked her about technology of any kind her eyes shined and she talked a million words a minute. It was refreshing.

"You know we can only prepare so much." Catra hadn't go back home after her usual patrol, the inactivity was bothering her.

"I understand. I do wish to be prepared for most if not all possible attacks." She rubbed her eyes as she looked down at the 3D war map, Entrapta had manage to get a map that updated itself on the positions of the Horde and the Rebellion based on their communication frequencies. Why did the Rebellion had deemed her expendable was baffling to Catra, that and the utter uselessness of the Horde. If given the right incentive they would have the most knowledgable tech being in all of Etheria.

Then again neither group was great at making thoughtful decisions in Catra's mind. To many resources wasted on recuperating lands by the Rebellion instead of actually attacking and to many useless attacks from the Horde, as if simply causing destruction would get the Etherian's to bow down to Hordak.

"You and I know that isn't possible Catra, you need to sleep and rest. If you don't your mind will be unclear and you'll make poor decisions."

"I can make poor decisions with a clear mind Lonnie, there is only so much even I can do." It was self deprecating, Catra knew it. Lonnie had often tried to stop her from putting herself down, it was hard. A defense mechanisms built up back in the Horde, if people deemed you useless then it was less likely that they would bother with you. It had come with good and bad, as everything in the Horde did.

"Well you'll be more likely to make them if you are tired, so far your decisions have been good." Catra stared at the map as if it would change if she did it hard enough. "We don't expect you to always be right, there will be times were we make bad decision. You aren't the only one making them Catra, we all are. If the villagers don't like them they will let us know."

"I am worried." Catra sat down. They had gotten pretty simple chairs for them to sit down and watch as things changed. Entrapta had been keeping a log each morning.

"We all are, after all we did flee from the Horde with no intention of getting back into this mess."

"I'm worried people will get hurt, they have already suffered enough." If Adora had some kind of hero complex it was easy to see, Catra kept it hidden but under all her big talk and dry remarks she didn't like people being hurt. What a shame that never applied to herself, it was one of the things Lonnie had come to learn about the girl since getting away.

"You have suffered more than enough too." Lonnie squeezed Catra's shoulder. "We are preparing for the worst, however, there is still a chance that we don't have to move a finger and they leave us alone."

"It is very unlikely."

"I know." Lonnie wasn't going to sugarcoat things, they didn't work like that. It was honesty through and through, while there was a place for hope they weren't naive. "We have the best chance out of everyone, we are strong and know what is to have nothing. We have gain something and we would all fight and die to protect it."

"That is one of my fears." They shouldn't have to fight, they didn't start the conflict. They weren't even important enough for the people fighting to acknowledge them fully. Catra stood out and walked to the balcony, she had been reluctant to let Scorpia add it. For her it seemed as if it was there to look down at people, Scopia had persuaded her saying that it would be a good place to clear their minds; they would always address the village a the cafeteria.

"Did you know there was a Kingdom here before?" Lonnie looked puzzled as Catra looked at the night sky. "It was called Halfmoon, home of the Magicats. A race of strong and fearless warriors and mages, nobody knows what happened to them."

"Why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with us?" Catra stared at her for a moment and looked back up.

"It's very likely that I'm the last of them." There wasn't feeling in her voice, one would've thought there would be pain or bitterness, coldness or rage, but there was nothing. As if Catra was simply stating a fact, something as unimpressive as the fact that you needed to eat to survive.

"How do you know?"

"I've been seeing Razz. Just like you." Catra smirked. "I thought you said she was a crazy old lady, she seems to know far more than anyone I've ever known."

"She does." Lonnie let her hands rest on the railing, listening at the night and its soft sounds.

"Let's go home, I'm sure Kyle left something there since I don't believe you ate after lunch today." Lonnie pushed Catra mockingly.

"I know for a fact you didn't eat after breakfast so you have nothing on me." Enough had been said that night, they would be left with their thoughts and ponder probably for far too long and rest far too little.

They were accustomed to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter, I know the updates have been rather quickly and while I wish they could continue at that rate I will no longer be able to meet that goal. I got a full time job and that will reduce my free time considerably, however, I will try to get one chapter per week at the very least consistently. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this new chapter despite its tardiness.


	16. Tick tock the clock starts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moves are made and deadlines are given, how will everyone deal with the consequences?

"You should be careful Catra." The girl grumbled as Razz smacked her head. You'd think an older woman wouldn't be able to hit that hard.

"I am being careful, preparing the defenses and making the attacking forces strong enough to go and strike if necessary." It took everything for Catra to say it without it sounding like a whine.

"I am talking about your own health deary, it is very important for you to be healthy if you are to lead." How Razz was aware that she wasn't taking care of herself was anyone's guess but Catra would bet some money that it was Lonnie or Scorpia's doing.

"I don't want to lead..." It had simply happened, people asked her for opinions and for some reason permission to do things, even when they were only the original five ex-Horde soldiers.

"You already are."

"You know I kind of miss you being too much of a mess for me to understand you Razz." Catra said with a smirk knowing that it would earn her another smack. That godforsaken broom would be her cause of death, seriously doesn't this constituted something like child abuse or just plain abuse?

"It was clear that it wouldn't work with you, your girl on the other hand is much more receptive if I'm not clear and she needs to work on whatever I'm trying to tell her."

"Do you know how she's doing?" Catra had resigned herself to the thought that Razz assumed Adora was hers, which wasn't true at all. The bright side to that is that she could get updates on the princess every now and then if she asked.

"She's worried, her usual companions told her about your village and she knows to some extent how capable you are." If anyone was about to take her or the village seriously it would definitely be Adora, after all she was one of her closest friends back in the Horde. She knew Catra dumbed herself down to avoid getting more attention than she already received.

"The decided to call it Forgotten Land, apparently it stuck after I said too many times that we were the product of the forgotten people that came with war." What a way to turn such disheartening statement into something positive. The Forgotten Land people were looking forward, besides it was one less thing she had to worry about.

"Why didn't you reclaim the Halfmoon Kingdom?" They could've done it.

"Because it isn't my place to do so, I know you've been telling me that I came from there but I am not going to steal it from their original owners. Especially since there isn't a clear answer as to how the fuc- Hey!" Catra rubbed her head, for some reason Razz wasn't fond of fowl language. 

"You could say it without that word."

"Okay... Moons..." Catra grumbled before continuing. "How they disappeared."

"You wonder if they could still be out there?" Razz was great at getting Catra to talk, wether it was aware of this or not the girl couldn't tell.

"It is a possibility, the Horde wouldn't have hidden the fact that they squashed one of the strongest kingdoms on Etheria and they don't have records of being the ones that supposedly destroyed them. As far as I can tell everything is speculation." The Horde lived for feeling grandiose about their conquests, even the small and rather insignificant ones. It made Catra's mind wonder, was there a chance that the kingdom or it's people were still out there?

"It will stay that way."

"Most likely." Catra agreed, if they had gone into hiding by their own choice it meant that as long as the war was still going they would remain hidden.

"How is Kyle doing with the recipes?" Thank the moons that Razz wanted to move on from that, it was still a touchy, to think that there could be someone out there that was Catra's actual family. It was hoping too much and right now that wasn't an option.

"Everyone enjoys them, the pies are a favorite but kids prefer the sugar cookies." Razz hummed.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm..." How was she doing? It would be nonsensical to lie, "dealing with everything."

"You need rest." _You aren't the only one that believes that._ People caring about her resting was starting to become an issue. Was it that obvious she was tired?

"Dedril would agree with you." The best way to deflect is by making a joke, not a very good one though.

"Good the girl is smart." Razz paused and looked at Catra seriously. "I know you will protect everyone, but I am pleading you, protect yourself as well. They need you, Etheria needs you, Adora needs you."

"What we need is for this war to stop." Catra grumbled, this was so stupid. Given the resources and power of the Rebellion they should've been already able to finish the Horde, why were they so inept? For real, you'd think that the royals from the different kingdoms would want this to be resolved as fast as possible.

"That too." Razz sighed as she refiled their tea cups. "After the war though people need what you've done with Forgotten Land, security and freedom."

"That sounds like a contradiction." But it wasn't, people in Forgotten Land were free. There weren't taxes to pay. The children, elderly and whoever couldn't work was taken care of. Everyone had a place to sleep and food to eat. Even if you had a previous ability for certain job you could always change it, it was your choice. The only two conditions were be helpful, meaning don't just stay slouching all day long; and don't cause trouble.

"You've managed it just fine." That was nothing short of miracle, Catra wasn't about to assume something like their home could be achieved everywhere. People aren't always understanding, especially of those who have wrong them before. In Forgotten Land that wasn't an option, it was after all, founded by a group of ex-Horde soldiers, orphans and misfits. 

"I'll do my best, but if time comes for me to decide I will make sure they all have a chance to actually live life... Even if it costs me mine." God damn it Catra sounded like Adora, the fucking hero/martyr complex.

"Haven't you suffered enough?" Had she? Perhaps.

"I'll suffer ten times what I've already have to avoid someone else dealing with that same pain. I would've taken Entrapta's place if given the chance, the girl is great and shouldn't have gone through whatever Shadow Weaver did to her." Catra had never been told the specifics, not like Entrapta would've shared them with anyone, but she knew the modus operandi of the witch.

"Neither should've you." Really? Maybe a little.

"We can't dwell on the past." Catra said thoughtfully, the more she went back the bigger the future problems seemed. As if remembering her time back in the Horde made the possibility of war and consequently losing it a terrifying thought.

"It doesn't mean we ought to forget it child." Razz could be a philosopher or a teacher, she was definitely suited for the job. It would make for a better education than the one she received and most certainly a more fun one.

"No, never I'll forget it." Forgetting would be a disservice to everyone, to the ones who suffered before, the ones that were suffering now, herself. "Still we have to move forward."

"The unwilling leader becomes the best one." What a fucking joke that was, this universe had some sick way of twisting fates. When had she become wise enough to lead a village? She was still a teenager. There had to be an adult that could've done a better job.

"I'm not the best leader they could have, far from it." The certainty of her words made Razz smile, that was exactly why she was great. "However, I'll do my best." 

"What about a slice of pie? I've made a new recipe." One that would make Catra sleep later on, but the girl didn't have to be aware of that fact.

"Just one Razz, I've been gone long enough and there are still problems I need to solve." Razz knew when to stop and let Catra process whatever information she gave her.

* * *

"I've been informed that there has been a problem with rogue soldiers."

"There has been a steady decline in numbers but we can't seem to pin point why Lord Hordak."

Defectors weren't a new thing in the Horde, however, when they started to _recruit_ the soldiers as children that problem had basically disappeared. Lately there had been a rise on the defectors, there wasn't a clear answer as to why and it pissed Hordak. How could they have started running away without leaving clues behind, someone was being a bridge inside. A fucking traitor, that was the last thing he needed.

"Haven't I been disappointed enough by you? For someone with so much power you sure are a waste." The witch was useful, most of the time. Right now she was proving to be incompetent.

"I'll make sure everyone knows how treason will be punished." Everyone knew that treachery was paid with their lives, that was throughly covered on their training. There had to be someone promising something good enough to risk death, that was dangerous. If there was one thing you didn't want beyond your soldiers having their own will was them having hope of something better than the regiment.

"How could I leave you this task if you are the one that failed in the first place, I'm not akin to leniency." This was a useless thing, the woman wasn't aware of what was happening. It was happenig right under her nose and she knew no better.

"I'm well aware my Lord. However, we already have to less soldiers to work with. That paired with the inefficiency of the attacks around Etheria might cost you the war." The arrogance, the attacks were order by him but distributed by her. Of course there were better targets, he knew it.

"If you hadn't been chasing after that defector then we wouldn't be in such a precarious situation. Why shouldn't I simply replace you with someone more competent?" Before Shadow Weaver could reply Hordak raised his hand. "Be careful with you answer, it might be your demise."

He was already feeling short tempered.

"I don't think anyone knows as much about the Horde as myself, not even you Lord Hordak. Soldiers might fear you but they have followed me and my orders while you recluse yourself here in your sanctuary. I do not think you know really know how to fight this war."

"Those are some bold words for someone that is a trip away from death." Oh how wrong was she, he had centuries of war experience over her. He was a renounced general, he helped the mighty conqueror in the making of his empire before her was left to rotten in this godforsaken archaic planet.

"I have always talked truthfully to you my Lord, if you wished otherwise then I can certainly change." That was something to take into account, after all it was essential to know the truth in this kind of settings. War was a complicated affair, the need of someone that would stand beside you was basic; to Hordak's misfortune. 

"I do tend to have a poor sense of humor and as of right now you humor me." His smile was surely creepy, but fear was a powerful tool. "Show me you can actually get something done by the end of this month or I'll command the troops myself and teach you how an actual general wins his battles."

"What exactly do you have in mind?" The finally had moved pass the defectors topic, nothing to win by running in circles around a subject.

"Brightmoon can be our final conquest, for now think about Salineas. I do believe that would be a useful conquest." There, he was giving her a gift. Take the kingdom that was by far more important and better placed than Brightmoon, it was the logical move. 

"Brightmoon is our biggest problem." The stubbornness of this witch. 

"I'm not forgetting about them, I'm moving forward so that we can actually get to them and win." It was called planing ahead, war is won witsmart decisions that as of right now they had lacked. "We already have low numbers Shadow, it would be reckless to simply throw everything away because of a fit against our rivals. Be smart and don't let your fucking emotions get you for once."

Hordak was well aware of how saying her name like that made the woman shiver. "Yes, my Lord."

"That would be all." He said dismissing her. "Don't disappoint me again Shadow, it would be a shame to send you to Beast Island."

The witch flinch at his words, barely but he knew her too well. Oh the irony! How many soldiers had she sent there to die already? Maybe the she could feel guilt after all, that would do her no good. In this situations morals and ethics had to take a step back for the bigger goal, then again this primitive creatures wouldn't be able to understand.

* * *

"You might be going a bit too close for comfort." Lonnie said unsure of the proposal, they had been watching as the Horde moved their troops rather suddenly.

"We already surpassed that when we hacked their communications." Catra countered quickly, it wasn't like they would remain hidden forever. For all they knew it might be a good thing if they could strike first, besides, there was a chance that it would be assume to be part of the Rebellion forces.

"Are you sure that Salineas is being targeted?" It was the obvious target, the Horde was moving too many troops in a straight line towards the kingdom, assuming anything else would be stupid.

"Their troops are moving forward and the Rebellion seems unaware of this," Entrapta said as she monitored the map, "perhaps because it hadn't been such a prominent target?"

"Is there a way to deploy some robots and protect it?" There it was, the actual question. It would be a good chance to try the robots in battle without engaging directly with both sides. Catra had met several refusals, it wasn't what they were supposed to do. Then again things change and their situation had.

"I thought they were considered our enemies." Huntara was firmly against the idea of protecting the kingdoms, it could leave them unprotected and vulnerable. The idea of letting themselves et exposed for them wasn't something that in her mind should've been even vaguely considered. 

"The royals might be our enemies," Catra wasn't going to lie, they weren't in good terms with the kingdoms rules. "Their citizens are other story. Salineas falling would have repercussions on our trading."

"It would have repercussions on everyone's trading, it would be the Rebellions priority to take it back." Dedril made a sound argument, it would become a priority for them. Still they could avoid the trading routes to be blocked at all, perhaps win some points with the Rebellion without actually meaning it. 

"Yeah, but we could prevent it from being taken at all." Catra stood up and watched as the Horde sign moved.

"We will put it to public vote today, we will present the reasons to protect it or to stay by the side lines and do as the village wants. We aren't dictators but this could become a serious problem." 

The rest of the nodded and they moved immediately to call a town meeting for this vote, it had to be done as soon as possible. The robots were fast but it would still take them a while to get to Salineas. When the villagers were sitting down Catra moved to the podium they used for public discussions.

"We have become aware of an attack on Salineas." They were not about to beat around the bush. "It seems like the Rebellion doesn't know since their troops aren't there to protect it. That is why I want to propose sending a robot squad to prevent the Horde from taking that kingdom."

"Weren't we supposed to avoid the war here?" One of the villagers said, Lokhay was his name if Catra wasn't mistaken. She tried to learn everyone's name but with their increasing numbers it was becoming a rather difficult task. He had come with one of the Crimson Waste groups, with part of his own village. The man held a bit of influence still on those who knew him from before.

"We are, however this conquest posses a big problem regarding our trading. It would make it extremely difficult to trade anything with anyone, since a lot of goods are moved through the sea controlled by Salineas." That was a big hit for them, part of the reason they could continue with their technological advancements so quickly was the fact that they could trade for whatever was needed. As of now the merchants that wanted to sell their scrap would come and Entrapta would determine if anything was salvageable, if so then it was bought by more than it was worth it in their eyes.

"Wouldn't defending them have repercussions on Forgotten Lands?" Liclaude another one of the former leaders, it seemed like they were the ones that usually spoke the rest of the villagers questions. They weren't separated into factions or anything, but they were the ones that tended to listen and then express everyone's concerns in their meetings. Catra was glad they had those people, they weren't afraid of speaking out and that was something necessary for them to be trusted.

"It would mean making ourselves known, so yeah it would. I must say that the Rebellion is already aware of our existence and the Horde will become aware at some point, that doesn't mean we are about to be constant fighters. This is a move that would benefit us way more than if we stayed and do nothing, nevertheless it will be put to vote and the decision will be final." The other possibility was that the Horde would assume the Rebellion was making technological advancements, how they wouldn't be aware. Also the Rebellion could mistake them as Horde allies or even part of the Horde.

"If the no attack wins what will happen?" Alexander butted in, he hadn't been able to attend the meeting so it was his first time listening to this information. Aidan had gone instead of him, since Alexander was coming back from a trading trip to a nearby village that day.

"Salineas would probably be conquered and we would have to stop trading if we want to stay hidden, in a more precarious scenario it would mean the Horde would strengthen and the Rebellion weaken which might be bigger problems for us in the future. If they get it, that could mean they are making Brightmoon a final blow; we are close to Brightmoon so we would be dealing with them at their strongest." Catra answered without missing a bit.

"That sounds awful." 

"Its the reality of the situation." Catra shrugged, there was no good way to put it.

"What would you recommend?" Lokhay asked.

"It doesn't matter what I would do, this is a decision for the village." Sure Catra had her opinions but she refused to make a decision that could be against the villagers wishes unless it was the only option, as in they would die if it wasn't done.

"We want to know what you would do if it was your choice." Liclaude added as many of the villagers nodded in agreement. Catra was after all a former soldier, she had learned strategy since she was able to walk. This was a field in which she held way more experience than most if not everyone there.

"I would protect Salineas." It was in their best interest, yes, but there was also a sense of guilt that loomed over Catra thinking that there would be more refugees and people hurt if they didn't do anything. Besides it would protect them only temporarily. "But there are people that don't agree with me."

"Who?" Alexander asked what was on everyone's minds, often times they were on the same page. If there were different opinions between their leaders it was a complicated matter.

"Huntara and Dedril would avoid it. Lonnie and Scorpia are on the fence. Entrapta agrees with me." Transparency was something that they did, they weren't going to lie nor hide things from the villagers. "All that said you'll be able to put an x or a o on a piece of paper and will count it with Entrapta's counting machine as always."

The machine was a great idea Entrapta had had a while ago. It started counting as soon as the first paper was introduce into it and stopped when a red paper was introduced and showed the results immediately, there was no time for tampering with the results and the first few times they had taken the papers out of the robot and counted them by hand to double check getting the same result. Catra never voted, in case of a draw it had been bestowed upon her to make the final decision, that is why she was the one that added the red paper.

_1108 x_

_154 blank_

_1355 o_

It was decided, the robots would be deployed and tested while protecting Salineas. Now they had to make sure the Rebellion knew they weren't there to attack them.

"Entrapta, is there a way you can rely a message to Brightmoon telling them what is happening and what we are going to fo to handle the situation?" It would be easier if they knew already how their bots would manage, but with the lack of testing in actual battle it was better to have a back up plan. The Rebellion was supposed to take care of their own.

"I could hack Bow's trackpad and give them a direct feed to you." Entrapta said looking down at her own trackpad.

"Okay let's do that, can we send the robots while you're doing it?" Catra gave the command and Entrapta's fingers started moving, the order was the only thing she had been waiting for. If Catra had to guess the genius already knew the outcome of this vote.

"Yes Grumpy Cat." The nickname was now known inside Forgotten Lands, still it was also known it was reserved only for Entrapta.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have another chapter, I must give kudos to KURAMA019 and their naming choice for the village.
> 
> Also thanks to everyone for being understanding in regards to future updates.


	17. Defend Salineas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra informs the Rebellion about the incoming Horde attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry if there are too many grammatical or spelling errors, hope you enjoy it.

"I need to talk to whoever is in charge of your defense protocols." A voice said from Bow's trackpad.

"Who is talking to you?" Glimmer asked curiously not recognizing the voice.

"Hello... Why would you need that? Is there something wrong?" Bow said as he looked down at the screen surprised to see Catra. They hadn't made moves towards the village nor the other way around, them reaching out was odd at best.

"I want to avoid misunderstandings and there is no way I can guaranty that our decision will work." Catra said plainly, this was simply business call. They weren't about to chat their lives away and she needed them to know for once the situation they were dealing with enough time to do something about it. 

"What decision would that be, are you in trouble?" Glimmer scoffed as she saw Catra.

"No we are safe and prepared for contingencies unlike you." It probably carried more sass than she had intended but Sparkles was being annoying and unreasonable, they were giving them a hand. Sure it was ultimately because it benefited Forgotten Lands, still she could be polite; wasn't she supposed to be the future ruler of Brightmoon? Where the fuck were her diplomatic skills.

"What are you talking about!?" _I'm dealing with a child._ Catra thought.

"The Horde is preparing a big attack on Salineas and I know you have it unprotected, for all I know not even their princess is there to protect them." Clear and to the point, as everything should be when talking about this things, the idea that there needed to be chat in between this was preposterous.

"Mermista is here with the princess alliance, and how would you know that there will be an attack? You are just playing us." What would Catra win with lying to them? They didn't need her to show how incompetent they were at actually fighting a war. 

"I am simply telling you what I know, how I know it I wont tell you. It is your choice if you don't protect the kingdom but I believe at the very least their princess should be aware." This was tiresome and pointless to say, but here she was telling basic things to a stubborn girl. Where was Adora when you needed her? Certainly she could get through the Brightmoon heir.

"Thanks for the information." Bow butted in, the one with the brain power.

"We have already deployed some robots to help, but as I said before there is no way I can predict if they will be enough to protect Salineas. Beware the amount of troops moving is rather large, they are planning to conquer not just attacking, could you get me in contact with the princess or should I get her by other means."

"I'll bring Mermista." Bow said seriously turning to Glimmer. "Go tell your mom so we can move out." Annoyed the princess left.

A couple of minutes after Bow reappeared with Mermista. Thank the moons for the man. "He said you needed to tell me something about Salineas."

"It's about to be attacked by the Horde with the intention of being conquered, you need to go back and protect it. We deployed some robots to help with the protection, they are on their way already and should arrive before the Horde troops." Catra briefed her quickly, she had already wasted enough time with their dumbasses.

"Why are you telling us this?" It was a fair question but one easily deducible, why did they need everything handed to them? 

"Salineas is important when it comes to trading, therefore if it was conquered by the Horde we would have problems of our own. It's a common interest." Catra didn't sugarcoat it, they were important for Forgotten Lands therefore losing them would create problems.

"You aren't our ally?" Mermista asked curiously, did the Rebellion think everyone who wasn't with the Horde supported them? That was such a naive assumption, on the other hand they probably believed that the Crimson Waste had been abandoned way longer than it actually had. Catra suppressed a scof.

"No, I've made that clear to Sparkles and Arrow Boy."

"Why?" The princess didn't seem to be concern about who Catra was, then again she probably didn't know she came from the Horde. Princesses seemed eager to condemn everyone who decided to oppose them, even if it wasn't their choice; except of course if you happened to be She-ra the magic warrior they could rely upon. 

"I have no intention in partaking on your war. However, if it comes a point were I need to I'll make sure to end it quickly unlike you. For now concentrate on your kingdom, it's your job to protect it isn't it?" With that Catra ended the call, it was exhausting to talk to them.

Bow and Mermista looked at each other for a moment before Glimmer came back to the room.

"I talked to the queen and she gave us approval," she said nonchalantly, adding seriously. "How did Catra called you?"

"I don't know, perhaps it was Entrapta's doing." It made sense that the responsibility fell on the Dril princess, she was the most gifted mind in terms of understanding technology that Etheria had ever produced.

"I don't know why she would stay with them, she is a princess after all." Bow frowned at Glimmer's words, it wasn't farfetched. In fact he didn't blame her for choosing them over the Rebellion, he wasn't afraid to say that they had fucked up.

"You should be more delicate Glimmer, remember what happened. Entrapta was saved by them, it makes sense she would stay with them."

"We didn't intend to get her captured, we were going to rescue her eventually." Glimmer tried to justify quickly only to be startled by the voice coming behind her.

"When would eventually be Glimmer? I insisted on going on a rescue mission but you told us time and time again that it was too dangerous." 

"A-Adora..." Glimmer stammered not looking at her eyes. 

"It was our fault she got captured." Entrapta's capture had been a result of a tactical mistake. One that could've been avoided by better planning, but up until now nobody had said it. Adora had tried to get a rescue mission going right away, however, she was quickly turn down by the Glimmer.

"How long have you been there?" The Brightmoon princess tried to deflect, was she that prideful not able to own her mistakes?

"Does it matter?" It didn't, the truth was that Adora could've listened the whole conversation and Glimmer's views wouldn't change.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you Adora..." She said with a sigh as she sat on a nearby chair. "There was a chance we could've lost She-ra and Entrapta, there was too much risk." Glimmer tried to explain.

"Aren't you always going about friendship and doing what's right?" Adora said a little bitter, they had been adamant on drilling that inside her skull. When it came to the real thing politics ruled the decisions just like the ruled it back in the Horde.

"It was a tough call!" Glimmer yelled, tears pricking from her eyes. "But I went to the queen for advice and her answer was stand down!" She added raising her voice.

"Is the queen's opinion the only one that matters? Why do we meet as a council?" Adora was getting worked up. "What is the princess alliance for then if only Bightmoon's ruler get's to make the decisions!?"

The room felt silent, it was an accusation. No guilty judgement. The idea that everyone in the council didn't have the same power, they weren't equal. All of them fell below the Brightmoon kingdom, why? Because it was the biggest one? Because they were the ones lending their castle? Because they had more troops? Whatever was the answer the facts remained the same, the alliance was built for everyone to help and pitch ideas but the decisions weren't made by all.

"We need to worry about Salineas right now, the last thing we need is to lose Mermista's support in the alliance." Bow said after a couple of minutes had passed, Mermista nodded and they all left towards Salineas. The tension between them remained and Bow prayed that it wouldn't affect their performance in battle.

* * *

"Do you think it was a good call to tell them?" Lonnie asked while she looked dow at her pad, the conversation was tiresome to listen, how Catra had manage not to snap at the Rebellion when was a true prowess.

"It was better than risking two enemies in one go, besides there is a chance that the Horde will believe the robots are simply part of the Rebellion's newest arsenal." That would be an advantage and would give them more time to prepare for an attack from the Horde, which was way more likely than one from the Rebellion. If things went as planned the Horde would be in for a surprise and they would have results in terms of performance from their robots.

"That won't hold for much longer." That was true, still any amount of time they could buy was essential. With their healers training and the village aware of the posible danger there wasn't much more they could do, reinforcing their defenses could be done so much. Restlessness could be factor too, if the villagers got desperate enough they could end up wanting to strike first.

"I know, that is why we need to make sure we can take down the Horde when the time comes." Catra was no longer naively hoping to avoid the war completely, they were too big and honestly too much of a threat for them to overlook Forgotten Lands. The price to pay for their success, what a joke.

"What about the Rebellion?" Lonnie as always wanting to think about all the possibilities, it was great when it came to things from the village. It was also great in terms of looking at the war they would soon have to face, but that didn't make the questions pleasant. 

"They won't attack us to conquer us, unlike the Horde they have some sort of moral compass." For now, Catra wasn't so sure about later in the future. Sparkles seemed too upset at the fact that they were a new force in Etheria, she would remain in the back of her brain. Was there enough hate and impulse on the princess to attack them?

"How long will that peace last?" That wasn't a question she had an answer to, it wasn't clear either especially after the deployment of the robots. There was a chance that the Horde would catch on about their existence and their attack coming sooner than expected.

"I don't know, that will come later. At the moment we will concentrate on the Horde, until we deal with them we'll simply keep track of the Rebellion's movements." She wasn't going to stop monitoring the Rebellion, they were still a threat. Perhaps to a lesser degree than the Horde, however, they still were and that remained a fact.

"When do you think we would be ready to start?" The war, that was the implicit question. When would they attack or be ready if given the chance, things would get messy and could turn poorly fast. Why did they have to deal with this?

"I'll need to run some numbers with Entrapta but soon." The tech genius had become sort of Catra's right hand in this matter, with the way she saw things it was much easier to talk to her. That and she was the brain behind the robots and most of their defenses, she knew better than anyone how to use them. 

"What do you think the villagers will say?" That would be the most difficult thing in Catra's books, the war she could manage, their people and the politic movements that needed to be done were another story.

"I think it will be a hard decision, nevertheless, I believe with strong arguments we can convince them to end this circus." She would need to win the support of those who were seen as the advisors, if she could get Huntara and Lonnie on her side then most people wouldn't mind. They were confident on the decisions they made as a collective, therefore the next thing she needed to work on was that. Notably with Huntara.

"After that?" The girl was making more follow up questions than usual, that meant there was going to be some scolding regarding Catra.

"We'll deal with the consequences when they come Lonnie, I can't predict them." They couldn't think too far ahead or they could lose focus on their actual problems.

"Will you rest?" There it was, the actual issue Lonnie wanted to point out. How bothersome.

"Perhaps when I die." Catra tried joking, her humor was usually dry and when used with the right crowd it was considered funny.

"Don't make that kind of joke, it would bother everyone. Especially Scorpia and Entrapta, the latter might not get it as a joke." Unfortunately this wasn't the correct one, probably a joke that would sit well with anyone besides Catra herself. She needed to do something with the amount of self-deprecation she carried. 

"Sorry, I won't." Lonnie smirked and stood up.

"When did I became your mother?" She said as she put her hands on her hips, how much had their relationship changed over the las couple of months.

"You are barely three years older than me," in the world they lived that could be considered a life time, "at best you are my older sister." That was more appropriate. Catra's mind wondered to the same questions she always asked when they talked about their age, why the fuck do we need to solve the adults problems? She wouldn't voice it though, and Lonnie who she knew thought the same wouldn't either.

"Whatever, don't stay until too late or I'll make Scorpia carry you back." That was a real threat, Catra had tested the warning a long time ago and was literally carried out by her friend. Thankfully by that time everyone was already asleep, Entrapta had asked her if Catra wanted a wrist watch with an alarm on in to make sure she went back to rest; she declined. 

"Got it sis." Lonnie shook her head as she walked out of the building, looking back when reaching the door only to see Catra scribble something on her personal tablet as she continued to watch the map in front of her. It would be a long couple of days, longer than they usually were.

* * *

The information Catra had provided was correct, they had reached Salineas and had been greeted with a full blown battle. Mermista had reached her kingdom faster since they didn't want to use too much of Glimmers magic, the princesses was using waves to attack the ships while there were robots all around the gates shooting down the Horde ships.

The battle lasted longer than usual and it left behind injuries as well as captured enemies. They had fought for several hours and even the all-mighty She-ra looked disheveled, despite everything the damage wasn't big in terms of the actual kingdom. The gates had stood strongly, helped by the robots while the princesses arrived with heavier power. The villages near the attacked had remained unharmed.

"You can't take them! They are our prisoners." Glimmer shouted to the robot surrounding the Horde soldiers that had been captured.

"They aren't your prisoners Sparkles, at best they are Salineas prisoners." Catra said as she looked at her screen, it had been decided that whoever was captured would be given the chance to seek refuge in Forgotten Lands. That hadn't been discussed before hand with the Rebellion.

"Then lets ask Mermista what we should do." Glimmer stood challengingly or what she thought looked challenging.

"No, can't do. They will be given the chance to stay here Sparkles wether you like it or not, if you decide to attack them or take them away without it being their own choice then you'll gain another enemy." Catra wasn't budging if most of this soldiers went to Brightmoon there wouldn't be a chance for them to actually live, they would be punished for following others and losing. Because if there was one thing that was true in war was that it didn't matter if you were right or wrong as long as it was your side that won.

"You wouldn't dare." Glimmer glared at the robot. Catra almost laughed, she would. Unlike the Rebellion she wouldn't take kindly to her own being attacked.

"Be careful princess, unlike the Horde and the Rebellion I know how to fight a war. Right now you are neither my friend nor my foe, you don't want to become the latter." Catra made sure her voice was clear and strong.

"Let her give them the choice." Mermista said from behind Glimmer, she was tired and honestly she wasn't interested on having over fifty Horde prisoners. If she could get rid of most of them it would be great, she didn't want them in Salineas.

"Why should we they are evil!?" _Sparkles should wear something that complements her face when she's red._ Catra thought. The girl turned that color a bit too much.

"Well you said it was my choice Glimmer." Mermista answered with a shrug.

"There, now if you'll excuse me." Catra said finishing the discussion. The screen on the robot that was infront of them shut down and one of the robots stood in the middle of the captured soldiers. "Right now you are in a shitty situation, I know by now every one of you must be aware of the decreasing number in the ranks of the Horde. That is because we've made a safe-heaven for ex-Horde soldiers amongst other people, you can choose between being a prisoner of the Rebellion or coming to Forgotten Lands and start a life here; your record would be clean."

There was a murmur going around, that's where the defectors were going. "There is a condition though, here you will not fight. You must remain peaceful, we aren't looking for troublemakers and at the first sight of actual problems you'll be swiftly kicked out. As Horde soldiers you are aware there will be no rescue mission for you and the Etherian's dislike you at best, this village is your best choice. If you want to come then move to the right of the robot, there should be a green light by that side, if you don't then move to the left, there should be a red light by that side."

"Will we be tried if we go to Forgotten Lands?" One of the younger cadets asked.

"No, the only thing you'll have to do is choose something to do. We won't accept you just sitting in your asses all day, but you can decide whatever you want to do. It will be better explained when you arrive. Any other questions?" They would be given the same chance as everyone else, they would start as if they had done nothing wrong. Which in Catra's mind applied to the majority considering they were trained child soldiers.

"Why should we go there? It doesn't look like we'll be much better..." It was normal for them to doubt, it would've been weird if they hadn't. The Horde taught to be careful with every proposition made to you, especially if it seemed too good.

"Look kid, you don't have to come you can stay as a prisoner for the Rebellion for all I care. Here you have a chance, take it or leave it. The thing is you'll have to trust me, if you don't that is fine I am not begging for anyone to come nor forcing you. You can come freely or not, however, I will not protect you from the Rebellion nor the Horde if you decide not to take my offer."

"Hey Rayden it is what it is, let's just choose and finish with this." Another cadet said to the one that asked the question before. The group of prisoners started to divide, and Catra's worry grew as the number on the left increased. Thinking fast she decided to add. "Scorpia is here by the way..."

"Hello!" The bright voice of the girl was heard and she popped momentarily on the screen. "I was coming to see how things had gone, and to tell you that Lonnie demands you eat lunch right now."

Catra rolled her eyes. "After I finish settling this Scorpia."

The number shifted dramatically and most moved to the right, there were still a couple that stayed on the left. Higher ranking officers, perhaps they believed that Hordak would let them back if they escaped. It was a ridiculous idea, she didn't say it though. If there had been questions about the truth of Catra's statements Scorpia's presence would've chase them away, there was no way they would be treated poorly by Scorpia.

"Alright then Entrapta divide them and start moving the ones on the right." The screen shut off and some of the robots started moving dividing the groups completely. When that was done the group on the right started to move forward, a couple of robots were used to carry the soldiers that had the gravest injuries.

"Sparkles the ones here are your prisoners, or Salineas prisoners I don't care. The ones that are moving will be relocated to Forgotten Lands." Catra said as the robot from before stood in front of Glimmer, there was nothing else she could do for the soldiers that decided to stay faithful to Hordak.

"You could've kept Halfmoon's name." Glimmer said with a lot less bite than usual, it sounded rather sad or pained, then again what did the girl really know about pain.

"That shouldn't be your main concern, like I said attack them and you'll be attacking Forgotten Lands." Catra's voice devoid of any emotion. It had been a long day, while Scorpia had said that Lonnie expected her to eat lunch it was more like she expected Catra to eat dinner.

"We won't." Bow said not giving Glimmer the time to answer, there had been enough metaphorical punches thrown today. They needed to rest.

"Good to see Arrow Boy still has a brain, tell the Mermaid princess that this are her prisoners and if she would like to talk a little about some protecting for Salineas. I'm sure we could strike a deal that is mutually beneficial." Catra said looking at him, perhaps he could be useful in the future when dealing with the Rebellion. It would mean that she didn't have to deal with Adora.

"I'll let her know," Bow said with a nod, "if she agrees how should she contact you?"

"I'll make Entrapta add my tablet contact to your trackpad, we can talk through there for now." Catra said as she looked away from the screen, Bow assumed the tech genius was with her and was giving an okay sign or something of that sort.

"Got it, thanks for the help." He said with a smile. Catra wonder how much had he seen already, surely he hadn't been as protected as Sparkles. If it was somewhat near the extent she had then she had to applaud his ability to keep a smile on his face.

"You don't have to thank me, we would've done it even if you had said no." It was the truth the hadn't been asking the Rebellion for permission, they had merely informed them of what they would do. 

"Thanks anyway." He said with a shrug.

"Sure Arrow Boy." Catra nodded and finished the communication.

"Should I add the contact right now?" Entrapta asked nearing the table. She had stayed and monitored, controlled, everything regarding the robots. Catra had been relieved when Entrapta had offered to stay and erased the need of Catra asking her.

"It would be ideal, thanks." Catra looked down at the map and watched their robot deployment move slowly but surely back home. The experiment had been incredibly successful and while they battled their “council” had been able to pitch ideas to better the robots as well as try to control them manually. Huntara had been impressed and Catra could see the idea of a future strike and having her support like an actual possibility.

"You know Scorpia is waiting at the door right?" Entrapta said taking Catra’s attention from the monitor. Even now the girl did so much, they had sorted out the robots and for a while she had stayed and watch the fight. She also went out and helped with the farming for the day and was for sure not going to miss combat training.

"Yes, when you finish we can go." Catra was looking forward to the meal, she had been running on very little that day. The idea of having to see death made the idea of food unappealing.

"Then lets go, I only needed your approval." Entrapta said with a smile, they had finally got her to what Catra assumed was her original set up. Perky and smiley, always thinking and talking about a hundred miles per minute.

Catra nodded and they went to eat, Scorpia indeed was waiting by the door. They finished their day as planned, the training done and Catra’s night patrol too, with nothing left they slept. The robots would arrive tomorrow morning and the new people would be a problem for that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it another chapter, thanks for reading everyone :)
> 
> Be sure to let me know what you thought on the comments.
> 
> Sorry for not answering the comments I wanted to post the chapter but I’m a bit too tired from work to respond. I did read them all though.


	18. Things are unsteady, what will be the plan?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hordak and Shadow Weaver talk. Catra needs Huntara's and Lonnie's support. Razz being her and helping the stubborn leader.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the waiting on this chapter.

"I've been so patient Shadow Weaver, this is yet another failure on your part. Why?" There was no point in making small talk or hiding his annoyance. This woman was proving to be utterly useless, how could she had fucked up so badly.

"The officers leading the troops said they encounter a robot force when they arrived, the machines protected Salineas and later on the princesses arrived." The woman explained, why was that even an issue? They also had technology very advanced technology.

"So you are telling me that you weren't even there!?" Hordak’s patience running low, this was unacceptable, they could be losing the war if the incompetence run longer. He had given her one fucking task.

"I was monitoring the situation from the Black Garnet Chamber." Of course she was, because the coward witch only knew how to plot things. Once before she had been an actual woman of action, apparently not anymore.

"I could care less if you were monitoring it or not! This was your assignment not someone else's!" Excuses for failure, that was the only thing that came to him this days. He couldn’t think about the portal or the signals he needed to send Prime, this was becoming a nuisance.

"I did as you told me Lord." Shadow Weaver was no longer looking at him but the floor, at least she seemed ashamed of the results enough to avoid looking him in the eye.

"No you were hiding comfortably in here while the battle was fought and lost, I can't afford to leave and be capture by the incompetence of others. We would be defeated, you on the other hand have plenty of resources to escape if necessary." He wasn’t naive, the witch had her methods of coming and going and if ever captured she could make an escape. 

"Shouldn't we talk about the incompetence of the rest of the soldiers? A battle is lost by the hands of the soldiers not the one that gives the orders." The deflection didn’t sound good to him, but there was a point there. One he would surely discuss throughly with the officers in charge of the training.

"Yes, we should. However, tell me why I shouldn't simply execute you here? Sending you to Beast Island or the Crimson Waste seems to me like a waste of resources we apparently lack at the moment." He said towering over her, he was tired of this chasing game. If his second in command couldn't even manage a win it seemed like he would need to take matters into his own hands. How incompetent were this lesser creatures, no wonder Prime wanted to help them, how merciful of him.

"You'd lose another soldier, a powerful one at that." The woman said with so much confidence that it almost made him chuckle.

"It would seem so, right Shadow?" Hordak said with a sinister smirk. "Still, tell me what this soldier means to me if she doesn't fight at all? Does it matter that they posses great strength if they simply hide here?"

Shadow Weaver stood there silently knowing that there wasn't much she could say. The attack had been fruitless, even worst it had been rather devastating to their forces.

"I seem to be wasting my time with you. Leave before I regret not doing something about you." She bowed and left without another word, thing weren’t looking bright at the moment. However, Hordak was a general. A great one. He wouldn’t be defeated by this lesser beings.

* * *

"The attack robots did really well, the improvements should make them even better.”

Catra had called a meeting to discuss the defense of Salineas once more. They had been extremely effective with the protection and the robots had proved durable and able to stand their ground against Horde troops. The experiment as Entrapta had drilled into everyone had been successful.

"I must say they held up much better than I expected, I can see them being incredibly useful."

"I'm glad you realized their potential Huntara..." Catra said with a little sass on her tone, probably not the best thing to say but it had been a long couple of days... 

"Can't blame me for being a little skeptical in regards to them, we hadn't ever seen them fight." The warrior had a point, and it would be fruitless to continue fighting out of pettiness.

"Okay, we did good in that front. Entrapta should be already working on the modifications. As for the rest of us we can continue with our usual work." Everyone in the room nodded, the new villagers, Catra wouldn't think of them as Horde soldiers anymore, would come later that morning. They had to travel slower than expected because of a couple of them being severely injured, the thought left a bitter taste on her mind; still they were at war, people were going to get hurt.

"Huntara and Lonnie could you wait for a second?" Catra said as everyone started to leave, both of them looked at her and nodded sitting back down. When the rest had emptied the room Catra continued.

"I can't see us avoiding the war."

"We talked about this already." Huntara was being stubborn and Catra had expected that much, the woman wanted nothing to do with what everyone on Forgotten Lands deemed a pointless war.

"I know Huntara, however, situations like this one force my hand into making changes. We can become a fortress as much as we'd like but we aren't completely self-sustaining, we need the goods that other villages and kingdoms produce. Therefore unless you have a solution for that particular problem we must think about the future in the longer term, the last thing we would want is to be conquered by the Horde simply because we lacked resources that they stole."

It wasn’t a thing to avoid much longer, they would all suffer if they didn’t take any action. That is how the fucking kingdoms had manage to make the Horde stronger, their lack of interest on a future problem had made it way bigger than it needed to be.

"We could try expanding north to the mountains and we could start mining for metals and such, our water resources are good as well as our farming in terms of crops and cattle."

Yes, they could eventually become self sustaining, but that would be still be a problem if the Horde conquered all of Etheria.

"What if they cut our water supply? We don't have knowledge about underground water sources and even with that it wouldn't be sustainable forever, then what?" Catra countered as soon as Huntara had finished talking.

"It is highly unlikely that they would do that." Huntara said crossing her arms, there was no going back. Sure the warrior was being defensive but a change in strategy would prove useless now.

"But it is a possibility that and I don't want to take the chance, we could make due with the storages of food but water is another thing completely different." Catra wouldn’t make the same mistakes others before her had made, weren’t you supposed to learn from them and do things differently to avoid the same outcome?

"We can think of something, ask Entrapta and she and her team will think of a solution." Ah relying on the brilliance of their tech genius, they were already very reliant on her and her crew. It would be unfair to put more work on their backs, Catra was sure Entrapta wouldn’t mind, however, she wasn’t about to work them to dead if they could deal with this now.

"I know you'd rather avoid it but we won't be able to hide much longer Huntara." That was clearly another issue, sooner rather than later the Horde would know about them. They would become a target and a very useful one, if they ever came to know about how far they had gotten in such a little amount of time their leaders on every department would be forced to help the Horde.

"You promised we wouldn't have to fight." Huntara said seriously.

"And I will keep it as long as I can!" Catra said loudly, not shouting yet, slamming her hands on the table, she took a deep breath. "We can naively believe they will let us roam free, you know the Horde will try eventually to conquer us. I would prefer to have the upper hand when we deal with them and right now we do. They aren't as strong as they used to be and with the right moves we could end them easily, however I won't do anything without the villagers consent."

Even with everything Catra wasn’t about to force this on anyone, even if it meant to go to the Horde and take it down all by herself. She would prefer not having to do it alone but she wasn’t about to stay still and put everyone in danger.

"They won't agree to go to war Catra." Huntara said a little weaker, she could see the points the girl was trying to make. However, they had all look for refuge in Forgotten Lands. They didn’t want to fight, they wanted to live peacefully and unbothered by the kingdoms or the Horde.

It was a naive dream though.

"They won't if it's only me saying it." Catra sat down looking at the map now of the village, Entrapta had made it so that they could play around and see more than just Etheria's full map zooming in and out with a great amount of detail in the zones they needs. That meant Forgotten Lands had a nearly perfect, Catra assumed it was, 3D model of the buildings.

“What are you asking?” Lonnie said as she was done listening, it was one of the great things about her. The argument was about to come to an end and she would definitely give her opinion.

“I need you both to back me up on attacking the Horde. We need to finish them before they get stronger, they are weak right now, surely Hordak and Shadow Weaver are having problems. We might not need to strain this longer, if we are smart enough we could end the war.”

“Those are some bold words without any sign of a plan.” Lonnie wouldn’t jump and help if there wasn’t something to do already. She agreed with somethings both of them had said, but just going out and saying that they were going to fight a war without a plan was stupid.

“I need a little more time to gather the information and plan it throughly, I’m not about to go head on and lose everything you have worked so hard to get here. However, I need to be sure you both are willing to listen to the plan as soon as it is ready _with_ an open mind.” Catra said looking at both of them.

“Fine child, I’ll indulge you. If you come back to us with a sound plan I’ll support you in front of the village, however, this isn’t me promising my support.” Huntara made sure to add the clarification at the end, the girl had been a thoughtful leader and had made the right decisions so far. It would be unfair for her to simply dismiss her worries and plans.

“That’s all I ask, what about you Lonnie?” Catra said looking at her. The girl was just as thoughtful as Catra, she wouldn’t give a rushed answer and wouldn’t necessarily agree with her.

“I’ll be honest with you Catra, I’m tired. I would rather not enter the war but I agree that we won’t be able to ignore this forever. That said I am very worried about several things, the villagers for one. They aren’t soldiers, most of them, yes they take the defense lessons but they aren’t an army. Second the robots, we won’t be able to fight everything win them which goes back to the first thing. Third the Rebellion, do you believe they will let us simply run around freely after the Horde is gone?” She paused.

“Those are all fair, as I said I’ll do my best to avoid the need of soldiers and if I can make it with only one it will be me. Nobody else would fight-”

“That is my last worry Catra, you don’t take care of yourself! We are dependent on you, even more than we are on Entrapta and her technology, we can’t afford to lose you over some reckless martyr behavior.” Lonnie interrupted her, goddamn it if this girl and Adora had something in common was their complete disregard for their own safety and health.

“You can Lonnie, you can lead perfectly. And nobody is irreplaceable.” Catra new that first hand, everyone could be replaced even her. Adora had replaced her surprisingly fast, even when they had been inseparable as kids. She clenched her first below the table, knowing Lonnie would scold her for digging her nails on her palms.

“You are wrong, I get you want to avoid suffering in general and believe me I want to end this fight too with as little casualties as possible. Nevertheless I’m not naive to think that a big reason we are working is you, people trust you. Yes they trust me and Huntara and the rest of this mismatched council we have, but they rely on _you_ to make the last decision. Why do you think you have the last vote?”

However, if there was something true about Catra was that she was as stubborn as they came. “They decided that and they can do it again. I’m not worried about the future of the village as long as you all keep it running.”

“Your sense of worth is very low for someone that has accomplished so much.” Huntara said softly, it wasn’t a side she showed often. This kids seemed to bring it out of her way more that she would want to.

“I don’t need a sense of self worth as long as I do my job.” Catra said seriously and not for the first or last time she surprised Huntara, Lonnie on the other hand rolled her eyes.

“You really had a bad time as a child...” A statement.

“We all did, I wasn’t special. None of us were.” None except Adora. Adora who Catra had yet to encounter after leaving the Horde and already talking to the Rebellion, the girl that had so willingly left her behind.

“It’s always worse with some than others.” Huntara said remembering a skinny boy on her first squad, he had taken a lot more than the rest of them because of his lack of ability.

“That doesn’t make them special.” Catra said done with the conversation, this had gone somewhere she wasn’t willing to talk about.

“I thought Razz was making progress with you.” That was a low blow, Lonnie knew it, but she wasn’t against using them to drill some sense into Catra.

“Just tell me if you’ll listen to it Lonnie, then you can go and worry about my broken ass later while I deal with the fucking mess this wars is.” Catra said tiredly, she didn’t have the energy to put up a front. It was all so tiresome and bothersome and simply the worst.

“I’ll listen to your plan.” Lonnie said and Catra nodded. “I’ll be much more harder to convince than Huntara though, you have to come up with something that brings you back alive. I don’t care if you have to get the Rebellion’s help or even run to Adora, I will not say yes to anything that puts you in fatal danger.”

Lonnie stood up and left without another word, she needed to cool down. Catra sighed and looked at her hands, Dedril was going to lecture her again.

“You should just be a child.” Huntara said starling Catra, she hadn’t realized the woman had stayed.

“I don’t have the luxury to be a child, I haven’t been a child longer than you think.” It should sound bitter and hurt, it would be normal to be petty about this. However, Catra had never knew what being a child meant, she never would. That’s why she wasn’t concerned about it.

“I don’t think you’ve ever been a child.” Huntara said softly once more, this kids were somewhat damaged. They had all overcome great afflictions but the words that came out of Catra pulled even on Huntara’s heartstrings.

“Well... there is nothing I can do about that now.” Catra said with a shrug, she didn’t have time or energy to dwell on the past.

“I’ll help you with planning,” Catra looked at her with wide eyes. “I agree with Lonnie, we can’t afford to lose you. While I would want you to be a child and have less responsibilities there is little to no things I can do to help that, keeping you alive on the other hand I can figure.”

Catra nodded but before she tried to go back to planning Huntara took her arm. “Let’s go to Dedril, she needs to look at your hands.”

* * *

"You look more troubled than usual, that isn't a good look on you deary." Razz said as she handed Catra a cup of some tea, they always were different or they tasted different.

"I think we'll have to fight a war and that is kind of concerning." Catra didn't need to measure her words here, Razz would call her bullshit right away.

"It is going to be difficult." Razz said contemplating the horizon, they had somehow made a thing about drinking tea high on the tree that made Razz's house. It was probably not the best idea.

"I need to make sure nobody gets hurt." Catra looked south were you could barely make the end of the Whispering Woods and thought about the Fright Zone, how was everything really going inside? There was only so much information you could get spying without being physically present in the place.

"Does that include you?"

"Why is everyone worried I will get hurt? I know how to fight and I am sensible when picking my fights." Catra got a little worked up, it wasn't like she wanted to fight at all.

"I know Catra, however, I also know you are extremely adamant in making sure nobody gets hurt, even at your own expense. Your girl and you have that common trait." She added the last part with a bit of a smirk, for everything everyone said about Razz Catra knew the woman was fairly sound of mind. Enough to tease her at least once every time she visited, always with Adora.

"I don't know when you'll stop thinking about Adora and me as a couple, it's never happening. She left me and went away to fight." The argument was weak and petty, Catra was well aware but she was still a fucking teenager. She should be aloud to make decisions based on emotion, yet she never could. Adora was the only one choice she could left to her emotions, and frankly the girl gave too many emotions to Catra. Ones she couldn't let distract her.

"You know better than anyone that if you answer like that I'm not letting it go. Why child?" Razz said without looking at her.

"Why what?" Catra played dumb.

"Why don't you talk to her? You are both hurting and it would be infinitely beneficial for both yourselves and the people each of you protect." If Catra wanted to be asked up front then Razz would. They sat in silence for a while, even if Razz asked the questions she wouldn't make Catra answer them if she wasn't ready. That usually meant long periods of silence people would deem uncomfortable, not them.

"I admit I was a bit stupid when I answered Adora's proposition. I was scared, she had decided to leave the Horde after going away for barely a day. I covered for her as long as I could while she was having a blast out, not really making plans to come back. Even worse I don't think she would've gone for me, she asked me to go with her because I went to get her back. Adora never thought of me while she was running away." Catra looked at her almost empty teacup, Razz filled it back up.

"I don't think Adora would want to see me now, she is busy trying to defend. Very poorly. All Etheria, because a stupid sword and a stupider destiny." She was getting worked up, as it was always the case when Adora came up. "Even after we parted ways I've been in Forgotten Lands for enough time for Adora to seek me if she so wishes. She hasn't, I think that is a pretty clear statement."

"Have you ever thought that perhaps she also believes you don't wish to see her? After all you have talked with the Rebellion and Adora magically never is there."

"I would ask you how you know that but I've known you long enough to know that the answer will be so fucking convoluted it will only serve to give me a headache." Catra tried to move from the topic, there were bigger things to think about than her failed relationship with Adora. The impending war being one of them.

"It would be easier to fight the Horde with She-ra by your side." Razz said as if reading her mind, honestly Catra didn't put it past her to be able to do such thing.

"It would, but I'm not about to go and make a peace treaty with the Rebellion nor an alliance." She was well aware of how they treated their allies, it wasn't as equals but tools.

"What if your people request it? Would you say no to them?" Razz looked at her seriously, she expected Catra to think about that. Not necessarily give her an answer, but expecting her to think carefully about that possibility. If they were dragged into war it would be viable to make an alliance with the Rebellion, it could resolve the soldiers issue. Catra wouldn't stop the training, however, they could avoid needing to send people at all.

"I made it clear that I am not a leader, I just do as they wish as long as it means everything remains peaceful and runs smoothly. It would be a slap on their faces if I simply said no, at least without a good argument. Which they would listen but it doesn't mean it would dissuade them, we vote for this things. It would create an imbalance of power and I refuse to live under another dictatorship as the Horde and the Rebellion do." That last part was bitter, wasn't a lie. Not completely.

"For someone that says so adamantly that they aren't leaders you sure do the work a leader would, including thinking and overthinking about how things affect everyone you supposedly don't lead." Razz said with a knowing smile.

"I just need things to work in general if I expect to live there nicely too, it is simply a consequence of that need."

"You know that girl of yours would love to see you again, she has told me." Catra snorted, of course Adora would've said something.

"You expect me to reach out to her?"

"Catra I'm going to say this without hitting you only once, Adora will not go near you without you explicitly saying you want to see her." Catra nodded and finished her second cup of tea, Adora and her want to please everyone. What a pain... She wanted to see _her girl_ as Razz always so graciously referred to her, she missed the dumb jock. Catra wondered what would've happened if she had left with Adora, probably the Rebellion would've either finished with the war or execute her as a war criminal. She wouldn't put it pass the royals to do it. Being an ex-Horde soldier meant there wouldn't be a fair trial at all.

They talked for a couple of more minutes, Razz gave her a new dessert as always and Catra went back to work. She managed to get in time for the afternoon (more like evening) training, the rest of her day was spent trying to get the villagers that were well enough settled and thinking about something they wanted to try. She made sure Lonnie and Scorpia accompanied her while she talked to them, most already had an idea and the ones that didn't were given the chance to try something and change it if necessary. 

Catra ended as always with her nightly patrol, this time alone. When she laid that night on her bed she thought about everything that had happened. The arrival of the new villagers had been more work than expected. Dedril wanted to kill her when she saw the amount of injuries they had, only two of the healers was left to del with the problems of the rest of Forgotten Lands. The war was ever so near and that could mean she would have to talk to Adora.

The same Adora that had promised to always be with her and left her. The same Adora that had been her best friend growing up. The same Adora that drove her emotions crazy and reminded her that in the end she was still a fucking stupid teenager. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am well aware that this came very late, sorry. It had been a couple of heavy weeks and I found myself without free time to continue this story, I am not abandoning it though. As I said before the updates may vary in terms of waiting time but I will continue. If I ever decide to stop I'll make it known.
> 
> Thanks for reading it and I hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully next time it doesn't take this long.


	19. Commanding officers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Entrapta and Catra talk.

"It is very weird your idea is the most logical way to go, why would the villagers disagree?" Entrapta asked Catra as they worked on the defenses repositioning, the expansion of Forgotten Lands required constant monitoring on that regard.

"People don't always make decisions based on logic, I myself am guilty of that." Her mind drifted to the now Rebellion's champion.

"When? I don't remember ever seeing you make a decision without logic." Entrapta moved the defenses on the map adding some, Catra had agreed to start expanding North. The idea of mining from the mountain and exploring it for more resources was good, it didn't deterred her from making war plans.

"It comes with emotion, people tend to be illogical when they deal with something that makes them emotional." Catra explained, she pointed to the newest expansion and Entrapta nodded moving some of the robots towards it for temporary protection. Turrets and the expansion of the wall were preferred by the villagers, Catra didn't question the decision; she kind of agreed it was more effective than simply surrounding themselves with robots.

"Why would you make a decision when you are emotional then?" This kind of conversation had become rather common between them. Entrapta was comfortable enough to ask questions regarding people or social distinctions/procedures without being judge, Catra was very successful in helping her understand. Whenever she couldn't Lonnie or Scorpia would be called to help, which hadn't been the norm for Entrapta.

"Sometimes you don't have time to make the decision. Meaning you can't actually put your emotions away before the situation asks for actions from you." Like when your best friend found a fucking magic sword and left you behind without a thought. Yeah, Catra was a little bitter about that still.

"You can always make better ones after that? Most failed experiments can be run again." Entrapta made one of the robots approach the cafeteria. Kyle had been very understanding with her preferences regarding food and made his best to accommodate her, which also meant he knew that a robot going to the cafeteria meant Entrapta was asking for food. He would type on the screen and ask if it was only for her or if he needed to send more food.

Lonnie had taken a the chance and had began sending Entrapta to deal with Catra before lunch or during lunch, Kyle would send them both food and Entrapta liked eating with her. It was a good way of making sure their leader was eating.

"Not always, people can be proud." Wasn't she one of those case? Probably, was she going to keep being stubborn? For sure.

"That doesn't make sense." Entrapta said as she answered Kyle's questions about their meals.

"Emotions don't tend to make sense." Catra shrugged, it was one of the constants of the universe. When it came to feelings nobody could ever say they knew what the fuck they were doing, or necessarily back it with logic.

"I don't think I like emotions." Entrapta looked at Catra and played with her screw.

"When they don't make us unbelievably stupid emotions aren't that bad, without them life would be rather bland." While Catra agreed that emotions tended to suck she wasn't about to make Entrapta believe they were always bad. There was a good argument about them being necessary, bothersome but necessary.

"Can you give me an example for a decision you made based on emotion?" That also happened, Catra would think about examples that would be understandable for Entrapta. Which had to be made easy to follow with logic, that proved a problem.

"Scorpia might have a better example." Catra tried deflecting.

"Scorpia is great but she tends to be a follower not a decision maker." Entrapta wanted someone who had to deal with making decisions, she liked Scorpia as a friend but she did as Catra or Lonnie told her. She was great with hugs and moving really heavy things, Entrapta liked to ask her to test the robots and defenses durability, that was a show many on Forgotten Lands watched.

Catra sighed, Entrapta would stop if she asked her. "It always had to do with Adora." She said as she opened the door to let the robot enter.

"Can I know more?" Entrapta took out their meals from the robot, Catra made their 3D map turn into a normal table. Per everyone's request Entrapta had made sure that if something spilled nothing would get damaged.

"Do you need to?" Catra asked as she sat back down.

"No, but I'm curious." Entrapta said with a shrug. "We can go back to the war planing."

"Thanks." They started to eat, the quality of the food was progressively getting better. Now there was more than one shift of cooks, Kyle oversaw them all. Some meals though were made by him, Entrapta's being one of them. Most of their original group went to him directly.

"So what do you want to make with the robots?" Entrapta asked, they had gone through some of the ideas. The genius had made a couple of new versions at least the blueprints, Catra knew she had a coupe prototypes ready for Scorpia's testing.

"We were already planing to have different versions of them, so I'd like to know every version you will make and then we can devise a good plan. I know you are making some that actually could attack from the air, those will be a big thing." That had been something new, while there had been ideas of flying robots back at the Horde every weapon was stuck on the ground. Being able to attack like that would be an amazing advantage.

"We can't have that many of them." Entrapta said as a matter of fact, that meant there was something that would make them difficult to produce. Something that was hard enough to get for Entrapta not to add it to her never ending list of resources. The merchants that came to Forgotten Lands had made it known that it was a great place to trade, wether for food or tech or at times a place to stay. Disagreements regarding prices or the trades were discussed with Catra or Lonnie personally and most of the times they managed to get to an agreement, however if not it didn't mean the merchants couldn't come back. 

It was a problem in other places, they could be banned from certain villages or kingdoms. Here it only meant they wouldn't sell something that day, it had happened that they would return and accept the original offer or with something new. Initially it had been frowned by the newer arrivals, meaning the Crimson Waste folks, but when one of the merchants returned with some First One's tech that Entrapta was willing to sell a kidney for they reconsidered.

"We'll choose carefully their battles." They would have to be, Catra knew it. The last thing they wanted was to lose their biggest advantage, especially with the possibility of the Horde taking their technology. Hordak was smart, he knew his way around technology and that was an important thing to take into account. 

"I would've thought you'd like the ones that are like tanks." They were very powerful, nearly indestructible. A thing of beauty, Entrapta and her team had put that robot through everything they could think of. Scorpia had a lot of fun testing it, both as a threat and as a pilot. It had been a little bit of a show for the villagers, it was sort of a contest to try to destroy them. One of the newer kids shadowing Entrapta had made a bomb that had damaged it quite a bit, Entrapta had been ecstatic with her newest pupil. Lonnie on the other hand made sure to remind them not to activate bombs inside Forgotten Lands.

"They are too obvious, they will be important with announced battles. However, for surprise attacks those aren't very useful." People always loved epic battles, they loved the idea of a clash of titans. Catra understood the appeal of it in legends and stories, it was entertaining. In real life that wasn't the true, she didn't want high stakes, she didn't want the bleeding soldiers, she didn't want any of that. No matter how much glory it came with.

"We won't attack frontly?" Entrapta said surprised, most likely because she fought with the Rebellion and their "punch first think later" mentality.

"We have the power but it would be better if we can take out the heads and see the body crumble." Catra put away both plates, Entrapta's pet robots were very useful when it came to delivering all things. It received it and left back to the kitchen.

"So the Shadow Woman?" It was a softer tone, Catra couldn't blame her. While they had grown closer and kept a good relationship neither talked much about the Fright Zone, whenever Entrapta wanted to talk Catra was sure to be there. Still, both preferred not to do it at all.

"Shadow Weaver is just the right hand, the power is held by Hordak. We need to take them both out." Without leaders communities crumbled, it didn't matter how big or small. The Horde would do it fast, especially considering that they were basically all just following whatever those two ordered.

"What will happen when we do." Catra appreciated the faith Entrapta had in them. Not all people would have that amount of faith. It meant a lot knowing how Entrapta based her faith, if it could be called that; always basing things in data and facts.

"We'll have to move faster than the Rebellion and save as many of the soldiers as we can, then it most likely be out of our hands."

"Are we getting them to help?" Entrapta asked unsurely, it was rare this days to see her turn shy again. The Rebellion had to still be a sensitive topic, understandably so.

"If we can avoid it then no, but I can't promise you that it won't ever happen." Catra said seriously and meaning it. If she could keep the Rebellion and their customs and princesses and problems away, they would stay away.

"Will I have to move from Forgotten Lands?" Entrapta's voice barely a whisper.

"No." Catra answered quickly and serious. "You won't come even close to battles, I need you to protect the village. You are incharge of he defenses and if everything crumbles I need to know that I have someone capable enough to protect everyone here."

"You're planing on taking them by yourself." A statement. The tech genius wouldn't try to deter her decision, but her face showed she didn't particularly liked the idea.

"If needed."

"You believe it will be needed." Entrapta pushed a bit, never too much.

"Yes." Catra said as she stood up and walked to the balcony she once didn't like.

"Okay, please come back."

"I'll do my best." Not a promise, because they both knew it couldn't be done truthfully. A wish said to the universe, something Entrapta thought the whole of Etheria would eventually wish for.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is way shorter than usual, but I think this is a scene that needed to be left alone. Normally I would try to get three on the chapter. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know you thoughts on the comments.


	20. The fight is close, closer than you thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra has now a crazy plan to deal with the Horde, however, it will put her life in danger. Will our group of unwanted heroes manage to change her mind?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is another shorter chapter.

“No.” That was the straight answer short and concise, Catra knew there would be no dissuading anyone in front of her.

“Good thing I am not asking for permission.” She answered with a shrug, when had she ever asked them for permission in terms of doing something by herself. It was her life and they could not get her to do anything or not do something she wanted to.

“Yeah, well you are not doing shit.” Loonie cursing wasn't a good sign, Catra had been expecting some contention. It would've been dishonorable of her to simply do this without telling them at all, however, she knew she was within her right to do so. 

“It isn’t up to you what I decide to do by myself.” Catra crossed her arms and remained unflinching despite their both worried and heated stares, there was no budging from either side.

“It becomes all of our problems when we have to know from Entrapta you’ve been considering the stupidest idea you’ve ever come up with.” So that was the real issue? Not sharing it before with them? No, Loonie wasn't that petty. They were allowed to have secrets and things they wouldn't share with others. Safety, it always boiled to that. 

“Like I said it is a thing I am not asking for permission, I’m free to do as I please as everyone else here. There isn’t anything you can do.” Catra sat on her usual chair and started the map function watching the current state of Forgotten Lands.

“I’ll tie you to a chair and keep you on a constant watch if necessary!” Okay, that was a bit much, sure things could go south very fast if it didn't go as she planned but that wasn't a good enough reason to restrain her. _Well, there is a chance of death._ Catra thought to herself, her features unchanged.

“You’re exaggerating.” She said dismissively, Loonie was never one to exaggerate things. They all tended to be more logical, there were, of course, a few exceptions like Scorpia who would make decisions when her feelings were in the line. They were always done with pure intentions, nevertheless, pure intentions were what had driven Adora away from Catra in the first place. It wasn't always the best way to choose something. 

“Let’s ask everyone and you’ll see how I am not exaggerating!" Loonie slammed her fist on the table. "Your mission regarding Entrapta was hopeless enough, this is just wanting to get killed plain and simple.”

It had been her most reckless move so far, well the most reckless one after they had left the Horde. It had been predicted as a suicide mission and the fact that things had managed to succeed had been nothing short of a miracle, luck wasn't something reliable and Catra hoping for the best was not something in character for her.

“I’ll side with her on this Wildcat, what you are trying to do is too crazy." Scorpia's voice soft as always, a big woman with a bigger heart. What a waste for her to had ever been part of the Horde, what a shame for those who wouldn't give her a chance because of her looks. "Very unlikely to succeed, we asked Entrapta to run numbers and possibilities. They are... discouraging at best.”

“We can discuss this a thousand times but the results won’t change.” Catra herself had asked Entrapta about her calculations, about the possibilities, and she most likely outcomes. They weren't great and the genius didn't embellish any of them, not even death. That didn't change a thing for her though.

“Kid think about it a little longer, what you want to do is great if you manage to pull it off but it will cost your life if you don’t." Even Huntara was getting a bit frustrated. "Weight things better, if things get ugly we have an army.” She tried reasoning. It was true they had a good force, and more on the making, unlike the Rebellion who relied on their magic and soldiers, not really on the later, their idea of robots fighting for them was good. Safer. 

“Remind me why did you tell them Entrapta?” Catra said rolling her eyes.

“You didn’t tell me not to, sorry..." Entrapta's voice soft, as if she had been scolded. "Lonnie asked and I just answered.” 

Catra sighed and shook her head, it wasn't the genius fault. “Then it is my fault, I’ll remember to tell you what should stay between us.”

“Don't you dare." Loonie said looking directly at Entrapta. "If Catra has another one of these ideas come and tell me immediately.”

“I can’t if she asks me to keep it to myself Lonnie.” Entrapta tended to given nicknames to everyone however Lonnie was the exception, Catra assumed she saw the girl as a caring figure. Kind of like a second parent or an older sister which deserved some amount of respect. It wasn't something they had talked about. 

“I’m serious Catra.” Loonie refused to sit down or let go of this. _Right now we have more pressing issues._ Catra thought as she rested her head on her hands.

“I am as well.” 

“I’ll bring Adora here if needed to stop you from this!” The room went quiet, Adora was a sore topic for Catra. Everyone there knew she looked right at Lonnie’s eyes. Her expression somber.

“You wouldn’t.” A small quiver on her voice, one most people unfamiliar with Catra wouldn't catch. Loonie wasn't one of those people, her voice gentler as she answered.

“I won’t let you die because of a stupid decision Catra, you mean too much to everyone here.” _Meaning a lot to someone isn't enough. It wasn't enough before._ Oh, how could one not let go of a grudge after so long.

“Well, I shouldn’t! I am simply Catra, I have nothing special about me. Honestly, at times, you would be better off without me.” They were living a better life since leaving the Horde, but that wasn't a result of Catra's doing. They had persevered despite the bad odds they had been given and Catra still believed that sooner or later Lonnie would've taken them out of that hell hole.

“Now you’re just being idiotic.” Lonnie said rolling her eyes. _Why is it that the common trait among good leaders is the impressive amount of elf deprecation/loathing they have? I swear this takes years out of my life span._ She thought as Catra once more rolled her eyes and focused on her.

“Enlighten me Lonnie, how?”

“I already told you! You are a foundation here, you are the leader of Forgotten Lands!” This stubbornness was a good thing most of the time when it came in times like this, not so much.

“Well, maybe I shouldn’t be!" Catra's voice rose. "I never asked for it! I am no leader!" _You're wrong._ "I’m not even 20 years old! I should not be the one in charge!" She shouted only to slum back in her chair and finish softly. "There are much more suitable people to take on my place, you for example.”

Without hesitation and filled with authority Loonie ordered. “Everyone out now. Scorpia and Entrapta stay.”

The room filled out and Catra stayed slumped down on her chair. She looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Which to some extent she was. It had surely been a difficult life for all of them, and even with their improvement in terms of quality, the responsibilities they now had were big enough to worry most normal adults. 

“You should talk when things are getting too hard to handle by yourself, we will help you if you need it. Even if it’s just lending an ear.” Lonnie said softly rubbing Catra’s back. _How did I let things get this bad?_ She thought. When it came to others it was easier to read. Catra however, had years upon years of practicing the I'm okay mask.

“Forgotten Lands is important for everyone here and if you need to delegate some tasks nobody will think badly of you. It is normal considering we are becoming huge.” Scorpia said scooting closer. When it came to dealing with Catra's stress being practical seemed to work best, it was one of the reasons Entrapta was good at coming up with ideas to help her.

“I can make a robot if you need to, you just have to ask what task they need to make.” Lonnie and Scorpia chuckled softly. Of course, robots were the first thing that crossed the genius mind.

“Don’t drown yourself in worries. What has been the most in your mind.” Lonnie asked softly, Catra sniffed and for the first time ever they saw her crying. Actually crying, not a miserable tear. She sobbed softly though as if doing so was not just embarrassing but extremely painful.

“I just miss her.” With the possibility of meeting again because of the current mess Catra’s mind had wondered multiple times to her ex-best friend, yet she found herself unable to say her name out loud. Perhaps it was guilt? And you could ask guilt over what exactly? Not forgiving her for leaving the Horde? For not fighting more when she asked Catra to leave with her? For forgetting her? 

“Do you want to see her?” Loonie asked softly, it was a delicate matter. Given the fact that Adora was She-ra and therefore the Rebellion's champion would make the villagers feel some unsettling with her presence. If it was for Catra's best Loonie would figure something out.

“I don’t know, I’m confused but mostly hurt at this point." Because no matter how hard she tried to forgive her, the thoughts came back and with that the never-ending pain. "I wonder if I messed up something great because of my pride and I still can’t manage to set it aside.” Catra whipped her face.

“Are you worried about her reaction?” Scorpia asked, it was good to have her there in terms of feelings she was the one most in touch with them, while she tended to make decisions based on them and that wasn't always reliable it was of great help when someone needed a hand in the emotions handling department.

“Sort of?" Catra shrugged and looked at the map. "I know it would be awkward, we have to be very different people than what we were at the Horde.”

“It’s been a long time.” Yes, time had passed without taking their feelings or concerns into account, but when had time be kind to them? Not when they had left the Horde or Catra had rescued Entrapta, certainly not when they had been stuck back there.

“What if she doesn’t want to see me? Or if she explains to me why she left me behind and it breaks me even more? I can’t deal with that..." Catra's voice was small as she moved the map around, for the first time every Loonie saw a sword symbol on the move, slow and steady. _So you have been keeping track of her. The lengths one is willing to go for love._

Loonie wasn't a fool, by now it was clear to anyone that had any sort of close relationship with Catra or Adora that they both felt more than just friendship. Loonie had heard many people long for a soulmate, a partner that they could love forever and that would love them back. They didn't take into account things like this, after all, you believe that if they are your soulmates you'd be ultimately happy, right? What a foolish thought.

"I can’t survive her leaving me once more.” Catra's eyes watered once more. And her three close friends wonder why would someone had to ever carried so much on their backs, when would she get a break?

“I don’t think Adora would leave you.” Scorpia said softly. A great trait about her was her inability to lie, both good and bad could come from that, this time it as the former.

“You can’t know for sure.” It was true, there was no way of knowing or predicting most things in their lives, especially when it came to their interpersonal relationships. In the end, there wasn't anything more malleable than people's emotions.

“Neither can you, I get your fear and all we can do is assure you." Loonie said patting her back. "If you see her and something bad happens everyone here will have you back, not just us and the original squad but all of Forgotten Lands.”

“Yes, we won’t let her get to you if you do desire.” Scorpia added raising her claw.

“I don’t know what I want.” She hadn't thought about what she wanted in so long. Catra couldn't really remember wanting many things throughout her life, leaving the Horde was probably one the biggest ones, that and wanting to stay close with Adora. Now the latter sounded like a distant dream.

“I’ll take a wild guess and say sleep and rest?” While it was true that Catra was the one that tended to have a shortage in the resting department it was no secret that it wasn't for lack of trying. Nightmares plagued her mind, visions, and voices could come when the exhaustion was unbearable. On a fantastic night, she could get five maybe six hours of sleep.

“It’s been too long.” If Catra couldn't remember wanting something it was even more extreme when it came to rest. if she was being truthful there was not a single night she remembered not being woken up by a nightmare, not even in her oldest memories.

“Have you ever sleep well?” Loonie would be a great mother later in life if she so wished for, it seemed her role to bother everyone into doing the most basic of things. For a group of ex-soldiers, they could slack so much it was impressive.

“Sometimes, Adora would help me when I basically passed out of exhaustion.” Here is where you'd think Catra was able to rest, however, if you ever found yourself waking up after passing out from exhaustion then you'd know that first sleep isn't ever replenishing enough. It leaves the body a little less tired than before, never completely rested.

“Would her visiting at least help with that? I could arrange it if you want it, she could be just around and not necessarily see you if it’s too much. We can act as buffers.” Loonie said as she kept rubbing Catra's back, physical comfort was better. There were clear restrictions in that regard though, no hugs if she hadn't asked for them before and nothing when it came to touching above her shoulders. Which also meant no touching her mane.

“Fuck I’m such a mess, this is why I can’t be a fucking leader Lonnie. I’m crying like a dumbass for someone that is just as idiotic as I am.” Catra said with a humorless laugh, they were reaching Catra's limit. It was easy to reach it when it came to talking about her wellbeing, for someone who was so fucking patient when it came to dealing with kids and these situations but with others, Catra was incredibly impatient when it came to dealing with her personal troubles.

“You aren’t a mess, Wildcat.” Catra looked at Scorpia not believing her a bit. Scorpia chuckled. “Maybe a little, but it just shows you are human. We all need to remind ourselves sometimes that you aren’t invincible.”

“I don’t know from where you took that idea, I am a big ass failure.”

“Okay no, we can allow self-deprecation only to some extent this is too much." Loonie said not willing to go down that rabbit hole. "I’ll repeat your achievements if needed but you are anything but a failure.”

“I agree with Lonnie, that is factually incorrect.” If Entrapta herself liked physical contact Loonie would've kissed her because even if she knew it or not her opinion was more than highly respected by Catra.

“You are most of the time, almost all of the time, very reliable. Usually, you seem unaffected by things and I guess that is a problem from our part, we don’t see you struggling.” _This is why we talk to her in group, it is better this way._

“I’ve known only how to struggle alone.” Catra shrugged and for a moment Loonie wondered if that was the girl's automatic response.

“Even when Adora was with you?” By Catra's silence, Loonie thought she had crossed a line. However, after a couple of minutes, Catra answered calmly. “There are things Adora doesn’t know, a lot, she would’ve tried to make things better and would’ve hurt herself in the process.”

Because in the end, Catra had always tried to shelter Adora from the evils of the Horde. The girl was a shining beacon of hope for everyone around her, she would've made a fine force captain and in the end, would've changed things. Despite this life threw them in a different direction and now they weren't even acquaintances, what a way to end a childhood friendship.

“Do you need someone to talk to?” Loonie asked getting more and more concerned, while it was great to see Catra share things it was very rare. If they had to come this far for it to happen it was a problem, a big one.

“Like what a friend? I have all of you for that.” Catra said dismissively. There were bigger issues at hand, they could deal with her broken mind later down the line.

“I heard from Dedril that there are healers for the mind. Therapists I believe she called them.” Healers, apparently now they were calling them doctors or medics since healer sounded too mystical? People wanted a different name for this since it didn't rely on any kind of magic.

“Razz has told me several times I need therapy." Catra chuckled. "I wasn’t sure what that meant.” _Well, that woman lives in the past, present and future so it is no wonder she already knew we would have something like this._

“I don’t know what it entails but we could ask her to about getting you a therapist, First One's know we all need a little help.” Loonie tried making the atmosphere a little lighter.

“I am not good about talking about my feelings.” An excuse, a bad one, but Catra was tired and drained from the talk they were having and the work she had done before.

“Baby steps then," Loonie said leaving the option still on the table, "you can talk to us and we can figure out what to do with the possibility of Adora coming.”

“Okay.” Was Catra's response to everyone's surprise. Perhaps she was done fighting them when it came to her wellbeing.

“For now please promise me you won’t do what you just told us, at least not without letting me know you are leaving,” Loonie said seriously. They would prepare things if they had to but Catra leaving without them knowing, which was a possibility if she wanted to avoid being stopped, was way worst than saying their respective goodbyes beforehand. They had to be prepared for the worst outcomes.

“I’ll tell you if I leave, I can’t promise you not to leave though.” Catra said compromising, it was the one thing she could do. 

“I’ll take what I can get.”

“Do you want a hug Wildcat?” Scorpia said with a big smile and open arms, Catra chuckled.

“Sure... That would be nice.” Surprising them once more. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I took a long ass time with this one and I'm sorry, I was on a bit of a writer's block and had a change in the job that I was assigned to do twice so I had to get that in order before coming back with another chapter. 
> 
> I will say that updates now on might be a bit more sporadic because of what I just said. I'm really sorry about that but there isn't much I can do. Hope you are all doing well. Let me know what you thought about this chapter.


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